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B.    F.    PERRY. 


RBMINI^OEfJOE^ 


OF 


PUBLIC  MEN, 


BY 


Ei-fe  1 1  nm, 


PI^EP/IOED 

BY  A 


LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR, 


BY 


HEXT  M.  PERRY,  M.  D. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

JOHN  D.  AVIL  &  CO.,  PRINTERS  AND  PUBLISHERS, 

3941-43  Market  Street. 

1883. 


f^|A. 


,j^6ys' 


TO 

MY  mm  SR^NDOHILiDREN: 

B.  F.  PERRY  BEATTIE, 
EMILY  EDGEWORTH  BEATTIE, 

AND 

WM.  BEATTIE  PERRY, 

THIS  YOLUME  IS  flFFECTIONSTELY 
DEDICATED 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


u 
D 
O 

CO 

2 

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PREFACE. 


Most  of  these  Reminiscences  were  written  and  pub- 
lished several  years  since  in  various  periodicals  and  news- 
papers of  the  day.  It  was  thought  by  many  of  the 
author's  friends  that  they  were  worthy  of  being  preserved 
in  a  more  permanent  form.  They  are  not  biographies  or 
eulogies,  but  simply  a  record  of  the  author's  intercourse 
with  these  public  men,  and  their  conversations  and  sug- 
gestions made  at  various  times.  The  faults,  as  well  as 
the  virtues,  of  many  who  were  near  and  dear  to  the 
author  as  friends  are  mentioned.  Should  tliis  volume 
meet  with  public  favor,  a  second  series  will  be  forth- 
coming, which  have  been  written  and  also  published,  as 
these  were  at  first ;  and  amongst  them  will  be  reminis- 
cences of  Colonel  Benton,  Silas  Wright,  Chancellor  Kent, 
Edward  Everett,  William  Gaston,  Chancellor  De  Ses- 
saure,  Presidents  Pierce  and  Fillmore,  and  many  others 
whom  the  author  has  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  and 
conversing  with. 

HEXT  M.  PERRY,  M.  D., 

Philada.,  June  14, 1SS3,  3501  Hamilton  Street. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


OF 

HON.  BENJAMIN  F.  PERRY. 

The  Hon.  Benjamin  Franklin  Perry,  a  distinguishal 
member  of  the  South  CaroHna  bar,  and  still  more  dis- 
tinguished for  the  ability  and  firmness  with  which  he  re- 
sisted the  disunion  movement  in  South  Carolina,  was 
born  November  20,  1805,  in  the  district  of  Pendleton. 

Benjamin  Perry,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts.  His  ancestors 
were  English.  There  were  three  brothers  who  immi- 
grated to  America  in  the  early  settlement  of  Massachu- 
setts. Two  of  them  remained  in  the  old  Bay  State, 
and  the  third  moved  to  Rhode  Island.  From  that 
brother  has  descended  the  fiimily  of  Commodore  Oliver 
H.  Perry.  At  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  Benjamin  Perry 
volunteered  his  services  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution, 
and  was  in  the  attack  on  Rhode  Island  in  1778,  made  by 
the  combined  forces  of  General  Sullivan  and  Count 
d'Estaiug  with  the  French  fleet.  Immediately  after  the 
close  of  the  American  Revolution,  he  entered  a  store  in 
Boston  as  clerk,  where  he  remained  till  his  removal  to 
Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1784.  Thence  he  came  to  Green- 
ville, where  he  married  Anne  Foster,  daughter  of  John 
Foster,  ot  Virginia,  who  bore  a  Lieutenant's  connnissiou 
in  the  regular  army  of  the  Revolution.     The  mother  of 


8  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry. 

Benjamin  F.  Perry,  like  the  mothers  of  all  distinguished 
men,  Avas  a  woman  of  great  vigor  of  intellect  and  char- 
acter. 

The  childhood  and  youth  of  Benjamin  F.  Periy  were 
spent  amid  hills  and  mountains,  alternately  going  to 
school  and  working  on  the  farm  until  he  was  sixteen 
years  old.  During  that  period  he  manifested  a  great 
passion  for  books,  and  read  ever}i:hing  he  could  lay  his 
hands  on,  even  to  the  American  Encyclopaedia!  This 
early  and  strong  manifestation  for  reading  and  learning 
inducal  his  uncle,  Robert  S.  C.  Foster,  to  prevail  on  his 
parents  to  give  him  a  classical  education  and  a  profession. 
He  commenced  the  study  of  the  languages  at  Asheville, 
N.  C,  where  he  met  David  L.  Swain  as  a  fellow-student, 
who  was  afterwards  Governor  of  North  Carolina  and 
President  of  Chapel  Hill  University,  between  whom 
there  sprang  up  an  ardent  friendship,  which  continued 
through  life.  The  Latin  grammar  was  put  into  his 
hands  Tuesday  morning,  and  such  was  his  intense  appli- 
cation, combined  with  remarkable  facility  for  learning, 
that  he  memorized  the  whole  of  it  before  the  coming  Sat- 
urday evening.  In  the  course  of  ten  months  he  read  all 
the  Latin  and  Greek  books  required  to  enter  the  junior 
class  of  the  South  Carolina  College. 

In  1824,  Mr.  Perry  entered  the  law-office  of  Judge 
Earle,  and  being  only  eighteen  years  old,  he  was  enabled 
to  furnish  his  mind  with  those  rich  stores  of  general  in- 
formation and  literature  which  have  since  enabled  him  to 
mingle  with  the  labors  of  a  large  professional  practice 
very  many  able  articles  to  the  periodical  literature  of  the 
country.  He  varied  his  reading  daily  between  law,  liis- 
tory,  poetiy,  and  novels.  He  finished  his  course  of  legal 
study  in  the  office  of  that  eminent  lawyer.  Col.  James 
Gregg,  of  Columbia,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1827. 

In  commencing  his  profession  at  Green\alle,  he  had 
more  than  the  usual  severe  probation  of  young  la%v}'ers, 
for  there  was  very  little  basiness  and  an  unusual  number 
of  eminent  la^vJ'ers  at  the  bar  on  the  AVesteru  Circuity 


Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry.  9 

which  included  Greenville.  Mr.  Perry  has  pursued  the 
laborious  study  of  his  profession  even  more  assiduously 
since  than  before  his  admission,  and  has  reahzed,  by  a 
commanding  practice  on  the  circuit  which  he  rides,  the 
rich  rewards  of  emoluments  and  reputation  to  which 
talents  of  a  high  order,  great  labor  and  study,  high  per- 
sonal character,  and  speaking  talent  of  a  high  order,  so 
well  entitle  him. 

In  the  exciting  and  memorable  nullification  contest  of 
1832,  Mr.  Perry  took  charge  of  the  editorial  department 
of  a  newspaper  then  published  in  the  town  of  Greenville, 
where  he  resided.  Nearly  all  of  his  friends — Judge  Earle, 
Warren  R.  Davis,  General  Thompson,  and  others  who 
would  have  been  most  likely  to  influence  and  convert  his 
opinions,  and  would  have  influenced  those  of  almost  any 
other  young  man — were  nullifiers.  Most  of  the  young 
men  t)f  the  State  were  on  the  same  side — as  they  are 
always  apt  to  be  on  the  side  that  seems  to  be  that  of 
honor  and  patriotism,  because  perhaps  it  is  the  side  of 
action  and  danger.  But  the  opinions  of  Mr.  Perry  were 
fixed  and  uudeviating  in  favor  of  the  Union — the  result  of 
much  reading  and  reflection,  not  crude  and  hastily  formed. 

The  whole  theory  of  nullification,  as  set  forth  by  ]\Ir. 
Calhoun  in  his  various  publications,  was,  in  the  judgment 
of  Mr.  Perry,  at  war  with  the  fundamental  principles  of 
our  Federal  Government,  and  impracticable  in  its  opera- 
tion. But  it  was  a  painful  struggle  for  him  to  separate 
from  cherished  and  honored  friends,  and  from  a  large 
portion  of  the  embodied  chivalry  and  honor  of  the  State. 
The  crisis  was  one,  however,  which  demanded  the  sacri- 
fice, and  he  made  it,  and  firmly  and  resolutely  did  he 
pursue  the  path  of  duty  as  he  regarded  it,  which  is  always 
the  path  of  honor.  The  Mountaineer'  soon  became  a 
powerfid  and  leading  organ  of  the  Union  party,  and  all 
sorts  of  influences  were  exerted  to  bring  over  its  talented 
young  editor.  Appeals  to  old  and  cherished  friendships, 
to  patriotism,  courage,  interest  and  honor,  to  go  with  his 
State  and  friends,  were  all  made  in  vain. 


10  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry. 

A  Convention  of  the  Union  party  assembled  in  Col- 
umbia, August,  1832,  for  the  puq)ase  of  aclo])tiug  meas- 
ures to  counteract  the  movement  of  the  nullificrs.  Mr. 
Perry  was  a  delegate  to  that  Convention,  which  was 
composed  of  such  men  as  the  venerable  revolutionary  hero 
and  patriot.  Col.  Thomas  Taylor,  Judge  Huger,  Chief 
Justice  O'Neall,  Governor  Johnson,  Poinsett,  Pettigrew, 
Governor  JManning,  Judge  Kicihardson,  Governor  Mid- 
dleton.  Judge  King,  and  many  others  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished names  of  the  State. 

The  opposition  of  the  Union  party  at  home  and  the 
denunciations  of  President  Jackson's  proclamation  seemed 
only  to  madden  almost  to  fury  a  gallant  and  already  excited 
people.  In  the  ensuing  fall,  a  regular  Convention  of  the 
people  of  the  State  was  convened,  by  order  of  the  Legisla- 
tm-e,  in  the  capitol  at  Columbia.  Mr.  Perry  was  elected 
a  member  of  this  Convention  from  Greenville,  at  the 
head  of  the  ticket.  His  colleagues  were  Governor  Mid- 
dleton,  Colonel  Brockman,  and  Silas  P.  Whitten,  Esq. 

In  1834,  Mr.  Perry  was  put  in  nomination  by  the 
Union  party  for  Congress,  and  was  beaten  only  sixty 
votes  in  a  poll  of  six  or  seven  thoasand,  (and  this  in  Mr. 
Calhoun's  district)  by  that  highly  giftal  and  most  popular 
man,  Hon.  Warren  R.  Davis.  Mr.  Davis  died  before 
taking  his  seat  in  Congress,  to  which  he  had  been  re- 
elected, and  Mr.  Perry  was  again  brought  forward  as  a 
candidate,  opposed  by  General  Thompson.  He  was  soon 
after  thrown  from  his  carriage  and  seriously  injured;  was 
confined  to  his  bed  till  afler  the  election,  and  consequently 
General  Thompson  was  elected  by  a  large  majority. 

Mr.  Perry  now  withdrew  from  politics,  as  he  had 
long  previously  done  from  the  editorial  chair,  and  de- 
voted himself  exclusively  to  his  profession  and  general 
literature.  Few  lawyers  in  the  State  have  enjoyed  a 
larger  or  more  lucrative  practice,  and  none  have  ex- 
hibited more  learning  and  ability. 

In  the  fall  of  1836,  Mr.  Perry  was  elected,  without 
opposition,  to  a  seat  in  the  South  Carolina  Legislature. 


Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry.  11 

He  was  placed  on  the  Judiciary  Committee  and  the 
Committee  on  Federal  Relations.  He  strenuously  op- 
posed the  agitation  of  the  slaveiy  question,  and  made  a 
speech  on  the  annexation  of  Texas,  eminently  successful, 
which  elicited  a  yery  high  compliment  from  ISIr.  Petti- 
grew — "  Laudari  a  laudato.''  The  Louisyille  and  Cin- 
cinnati Eailroad  came  up  before  the  Legislature  at  this 
session,  and  jNIr.  Perry  was  its  warm  advocate  and  de- 
fender. He  was  re-elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1838 
and  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Committee  on  Claims,  and 
in  that  position  saved  the  State  many  thousands  of  dollars 
by  his  thorough  and  searching  investigation  of  all  mattei*s 
presented  to  the  House.  In  all  the  active  business  of  the 
Legislature,  and  in  all  the  discussions  of  the  House,  Mr. 
Periy  took  a  decided  and  prominent  part.  He  brought 
forward  various  measures  of  reform  and  improvement  in 
our  laws  and  State  government  of  the  highest  importance. 
Among  them  was  the  establishment  of  a  penitentiary  sys- 
tem, the  election  of  Governor  by  the  people,  and  the 
election  of  Presidential  electors  by  popular  votes,  the 
equal  representation  of  the  upper  and  lower  country  in 
the  State  Senate,  the  election  of  Judges  for  a  term  of 
years,  and  the  blending  of  the  courts  of  law  and  ec{uity. 
He  was  opposed  to  all  connection  between  bank  and 
State,  and,  in  connection  with  Col.  Memminger,  advo- 
cated the  winding  up  of  the  State  Bank. 

]\Ir.  Perry  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  State  Senate  in 
1844.  He  was  there  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Finance  and  Banks.  During  the  four  years 
that  he  sers'ed  in  the  Senate,  no  member  of  that  body 
took  a  more  active  and  prominent  part  in  all  the  debates 
and  proceedings  of  that  body.  He  was  in  the  Senate 
when  ]Mr.  Hoar  was  sent  by  ^Massachusetts  to  South 
Carolina,  and  was  the  only  Senator  who  spoke  and  voted 
against  the  expulsion  of  that  gentleman  from  the  State. 
Although  in  a  minority  of  one,  he  told  the  Senate  that 
this  carried  no  terrors  to  his  mind  while  conscientiously 
discharuing  his  duty  as  a  Senator. 


12  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry. 

South  Caruliua  luid  been  for  many  years  a  disnuiou 
State,  aud  IMr.  Perry  had  been  consistently  a  Union 
man  ever  since  he  entered  public  life.  This  had  eifect- 
uallv  excluded  him  from  all  State  honors  aud  office. 
But  he  never  aspired  to  any  before  the  Legislature.  On 
several  occasions,  his  friends  voted  for  him  for  Chan- 
cellor and  President  of  the  State  Bank.  When  General 
Cass  was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  the  Presidency, 
INIr.  Perry  was  not  in  the  Legislature,  but  was  elected 
by  that  body  as  an  Elector  to  represent  the  State  at-large 
in  that  election.  Governor  Orr  and  himself  had  pre- 
viously been  opposing  candidates  for  Congress.  They 
were  both  Democrats,  but  Governor  Orr  came  out  in 
favor  of  General  Taylor,  which  secured  him  the  "SMiig 
vote  and  he  was  elected. 

In  the  course  of  his  life,  ]\Ir.  Perry  has  been  called  on 
to  make  a  great  many  public  addresses  before  various 
literary  societies.  He  has  occasionally  written  for  the 
Southern  Review  and  other  periodical  and  literary  jour- 
nals. In  The  Magnolia,  published  in  Savannah,  he 
wrote  a  series  of  Revolutionary  incidents,  which  were 
embodied  by  Dr.  Johnson  in  his  book  on  the  traditions 
of  the  American  Revolution.  He  has  always  kept  a 
journal  of  his  life,  in  which  he  has  recorded  not  only 
the  incidents  connected  with  himself,  but  the  important 
conversations  he  has  had  with  distinguished  men,  after 
the  foshiou  of  Boswell's  life  of  Dr.  Johnson.  He  has 
written  sketches  and  reminiscences  of  a  great  many  public 
men.  He  always  kept  a  file  of  all  his  letters,  newspapers 
and  pamphlets,  which  he  has  had  substantially  bound. 
In  the  investigation  of  cases  for  court,  he  preserved  all 
his  notes  of  authorities  and  arguments.  This  he  found 
of  great  service  in  his  future  practice. 

In  all  public  improvements  of  the  country,  ]Mr.  Perry 
has  taken  an  active  part,  and  contributed  most  liberally 
from  his  purse.  The  Greenville  and  Columbia  Railroad, 
the  greatest  enterprise  of  the  upper  country,  owes  its 
origin  and  success  in  a  great  measure  to  him. 


Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry.  13 

In  1850  the  secession  and  disunion  feeling  rose  so 
high  in  South  Carolina  that  it  was  said  the  State  was  a 
unit  in  breaking  up  the  government  and  forming  a  new 
Confederacy.  INIr.  Perry,  however,  remained  "faithfiil 
amongst  the  faithless,"  and  boldly  j)roclainied  his  oppo- 
sition to  secession  and  disunion,  as  destructive  of  liberty 
and  the  veiy  institutions  of  the  South  for  the  presers'atiou 
of  which  the  Union  was  to  be  dissolved.  He  suo;o;ested 
the  propriety  of  establishing  a  Union  paper  at  Green- 
^-ille  after  every  newspaper  in  the  State  had  gone  over  to 
secession  and  espoused  the  cause  of  disunion.  He  thought 
it  would  be  a  rallying  point  for  the  dismembered  and 
broken  Union  party  throughout  the  State,  and  perhaps 
be  the  means  of  checking  disimion.  Some  of  his  per- 
sonal friends  came  to  him  and  said  if  he  persevered  in 
establishing  his  newspaper,  neither  his  life  nor  his  proi>- 
erty  woidd  be  safe.  His  reply  deserves  being  re})eated. 
He  said :  "  I  will  go  on  with  the  paper  if  it  sinks  my 
fortune  and  sacrifices  my  life !"  The  crowning  glory  of 
^Ir.  Perry's  life  is  the  more  than  Roman  courage  with 
which  he  took  this  position.  Xo  one  living  out  of  the 
State  can  ade<:][uately  appreciate  the  terrific  excitement  of 
the  people  at  this  dangerous  crisis.  Mr.  Perry  boldly 
assmued  the  editorial  department  of  the  paper.  The 
difficult  and  dangerous  path  wdiich  was  before  him  he 
trod  with  courage,  patriotism,  wisdom  and  high  courtesy, 
which  have  w^on  the  respect  and  admiration  of  even  liis 
opponents. 

.  The  Legislature  met  in  November,  and  Mr.  Perry  and 
his  colleagues  from  Greenville,  Colonel  Brockman  and 
Mr.  Duncan,  were  the  only  Union  members  in  that  as- 
sembly. When  the  question  of  Federal  relations  was 
discussed  in  the  Honse,  he  opposed  the  action  of  the  State 
in  a  speech  of  great  length  and  ability,  and  boldly  as- 
smned  that  the  Union  was  a  blessing  and  not  a  cui"se, 
and  that  slavery  would  not  survive  its  dissolution.  After 
concluding  his  speech,  he  said  to  a  friend;  "I  intend 
that  my  speech  to-day  shall  be  published  to  the  world, 


14  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry. 

and  -will  leave  it  as  a  le<i-at'v  to  my  eovintrv  and  cliildren." 
This  sjioech  was  pulilished,  and  has  been  repul)lished 
throup:hout  tlie  Soutliern  States.  Ten  thousand  copies 
Avere  struck  off  in  Charleston,  at  the  expense  of  t^vo  or 
three  jjjentlemen,  for  distrihution  in  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia.  It  was  haiknl  in  AN'ashington  and  Xew  Or- 
leans as  a  ray  of  light  from  South  Carolina,  and  Avas  cer- 
tainly the  first  check  which  secession  and  disunion  had 
receival  in  the  State. 

The  State  Couvention  met  in  1851,  and  Mr.  Perry  was 
elected  a  member  of  it  from  Greenville.  He  was  placed 
on  the  connuittee  of  twenty-one  to  prepare  Ijusiness  for 
the  Convention.  Judge  Cheves  was  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee, and  made  a  report,  asserting  the  right  of  secession, 
but  declinino;  to  exercise  it  at  that  time.  ]\Ir.  Perrv  did 
not  acquiesce  in  this  report,  and  submitted  one  of  his  oaati, 
Avhich  was  elaborately  written,  and  attracted  considerable 
attention. 

In  1837,  ]Mr.  Perry  was  married  in  the  city  of  Charles- 
ton to  a  lady  considerably  younger  than  himself,  MLss 
Elizabeth  F.  McCall,  daughter  of  Hext  McCall,  Esq.,  a 
niece  of  Governor  Robert  Y.  Hayue,  a  lovely  and  accom- 
plished woman.  He  has  had  seven  children,  and  only 
four,  one  daughter  and  three  sons,  are  now  surx-iving. 
jSIr.  Perry  has  always  lived  like  a  gentleman,  in  a  style 
happily  combining  elegance  and  frugality,  and  only  ex- 
travagant in  the  pm'chase  of  books.  He  has  the  most 
extensive  library  in  the  upper  countiy.  He  has  saved  a 
competency,  and  has  a  handsome  income  from  his  pro- 
fession. 

His  }:)erson  is  tall  and  commanding,  with  a  face  more 
than  ordinarily  intellectual.  His  manners  ar?  at  the  same 
time  dignified,  cordial  and  refined.  His  natm'e  is  frank, 
confiding,  generous  and  impulsive — more  quick  to  forgive 
and  forget  than  to  take  offence.  In  all  the  domestic  re- 
lations of  life,  he  is  without  fault  and  without  blemish; 
as  a  lawyer  able  and  learned,  in  public  offices,  as  firm  as 
Cato  and  as  jast  as  Aristides. 


Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry.  15 

The  above  sketch  of  the  life  and  character  of  Governor 
Perry  was  ^^ritteu  by  the  late  General  Waddy  Thompson, 
in  1852,  and  is  so  fnll  that  very  little  space  is  left  for  a 
continuation. 

In  1852,  Governor  Perry  was  employed  by  General 
Thompson  to  go  with  him  to  Washington  and  assist  in 
the  defence  of  Dr.  Gardiner,  who  was  indicted  in  the  dis- 
trict for  perjury  in  presenting  a  false  claim  against  the 
INlexican  government.  After  spending  five  or  six  weeks 
in  the  investigation  of  the  case  in  court,  he  became  satis- 
fied of  the  guilt  of  Dr.  Gardiner,  and  returned  home. 

In  the  spring  of  1860,  Governor  Perry  was  appointed 
a  delegate  to  the  National  Democratic  Convention  in 
Charleston.  When  the  South  Carolina  delegates  with- 
drew from  that  Convention,  Governor  Perry  refused  to  go 
with  them,  and  remained  in  the  Convention,  voting  for 
Himter,  of  Virginia.  He  was  hissed  by  the  gallery  every 
time  he  rose  to  cast  a  vote.  When  he  rose  to  make  a 
speech,  the  hissing  was  so  loud  and  continued  so  long 
that  the  chairman,  General  Cusliing,  ordered  the  galleries 
cleared.  Governor  Perry  begged  that  the  order  might 
not  be  enforced,  for  he  wished  them  to  hear  what  he  had 
to  say.  He  thought  the  salvation  of  the  Republic  de- 
pended upon  the  ^^reservation  of  the  great  National  Dem- 
ocratic party.  In  this,  all  now  admit  that  he  was  correct. 
It  is  said  that  a  great  man,  thoroughly  conscientious,  is 
apt  to  pass  much  of  his  life  in  minorities.  Like  Lord 
Mansfield,  he  never  "  mistakes  the  shouts  of  a  mob  for 
the  trumpet  of  fame." 

In  1860,  an  election  was  ordered  again  for  members 
of  a  State  Convention  to  dissolve  the  Union  because 
Abraham  Lincoln  had  been  elected  President  of  the 
United  States  !  Governor  Periy  contended  that  this  was 
no  cause  for  breaking  up  the  Government,  and  that  the 
Southern  people  still  had  a  majority  in  both  Houses  of 
Congress  and  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 
He  also  urged  that  the  Presidential  vote  showetl  that  a 
majority  of  the  people  were  opposed  to  Lincoln's  election, 


16  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry. 

and  he  was  elected  only  by  the  divisions  iii  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  He  warual  the  people,  too,  that  they  were 
about  to  })luno;e  the  country  into  a  blocxly  civil  war, 
which  would  result  in  the  defeat  of  the  South  and  the  loss 
of"  their  slave  property.  But  such  was  the  temjier  of  the 
times  that  he  was  nowhere  heeded.  Even  in  Greenville, 
where  he  had  never  failed,  in  thirty  years,  to  secure  a 
majority  of  votes  m  any  election  where  he  was  a  candi- 
date, he  was  beaten  for  the  Convention,  in  company  with 
Chief  Justice  O'Neall  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  P.  Boyce. 

When  the  States  seceded.  Governor  ISIeans  ciime  to 
Governor  Perry  and  wished  to  know  what  his  course 
would  be.  He  replied :  "  I  have  been  trying  to  prevent 
this  sad  issue  for  the  last  thirty  years.  You  are  all  now 
goino;  to  the  devil,  and  I  will  go  with  you.  Honor  and 
patriotism  require  me  to  stand  by  my  State,  right  or 
wrong.  And  I  acknowledge  the  great  principle  pro- 
claimed in  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence, 
that  all  governments  derive  their  just  jDowers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed,  and  that  it  is  the  right  of  the 
people  to  alter  or  abolish  them,  and  institute  new  govern- 
ments." He  consequently  urged  his  Union  friends  to 
stand  by  the  State  and  volunteer  in  her  defence.  His 
son,  William  H.  Perr}^,  and  all  his  yoimg  friends  did  so, 
and  remained  in  the  Confederate  army  until  they  were 
killed,  or  until  the  surrender  of  Generals  Johnston  and 
Lee. 

As  the  war  progressed,  the  people  of  Greenville  began 
to  regret  their  action  in  the  election  of  members  of  the 
Convention,  and  elected  Governor  Perry  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  without  his  being  a  candidate,  and  almost 
unanimously.  During  the  war,  he  was  appointed  com- 
missioner under  the  Confederate  government  to  regulate 
prices,  etc.  He  also  received  the  appointment  of  District 
Attorney  and  District  Judge  under  the  Confederacy. 

Afler  the  close  of  the  war,  he  was  appointed  Provisional 
Governor  by  President  Johnson,  without  any  solicitation 
or  knowledge  on  his  part  or  on  the  part  of  his  friends. 


Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Peery.  17 

About  the  time  of  his  appointment,  he  made  a  very  strong 
Southern  speech  at  a  pubhc  meeting  in  Greeu\nlle,  which 
was  very  severely  criticised  at  the  North,  and  was  the 
subject  of  a  cabinet  meeting.  It  was  thought  strange  for 
a  Provisional  Governor  to  express  such  sentiments.  The 
conduct  of  Governor  Perry  as  Provisional  Governor  re- 
flects the  highest  credit  on  his  character  as  a  man  and  a 
statesman.  It  is  a  monument  of  the  magnanimity  of  his 
nature  and  unselfish  patriotism.  There  was  no  effort  at 
mere  personal  ends.  He  seemed  inspired  only  by  the 
noble  ambition  of  restoring  to  a  ruined  commonwealth 
order,  prosperity  and  contentment.  He  sought  to  build 
no  party  for  himself,  to  punish  no  old  political  enemies 
nor  to  reward  any  partisans.  He  restored  to  office  all 
who  were  in  office  at  the  close  of  the  war,  without  in- 
quiring what  their  politics  had  been. 

When  Governor  Perry  called  to  see  President  Johnson, 
he  gave  so  favorable  an  account  of  South  Carolina,  that 
the  President  requested  him  to  go  and  repeat  the  same 
conversation  to  Seward,  Secretary  of  State.  On  his  return 
from  Washington,  the  mails  brought  him,  from  all  parts 
of  the  State,  letters  of  congratulation  on  his  appointment. 
He  said,  good  humoredly,  to  his  friends,  that  it  seemed 
he  had  all  at  once  become  the  most  popular  man  in  South 
Carolina,  from  having  been  the  most  unpopular,  and  that 
he  was  forcibly  reminded  of  a  remark  of  Charles  the 
Second  of  England,  on  his  restoration  to  the  throne.  He 
had  been  so  warmly  greeted  by  the  people  everywhere, 
that  he  began  to  think  it  was  his  own  fault  that  he  was 
not  recalled  sooner ;  so  Governor  Perry  said  that  it  would 
seem  to  have  been  his  own  fault  that  he  was  not  made 
Governor  of  South  Carolina  sooner. 

The  Provisional  Governorsliip  of  South  Carolina  was 
remarkable  in  one  respect — Governor  Perry's  administra- 
tion neither  received  nor  paid  out  one  dollar !  He  was 
authorized  to  levy  a  tax  and  sell  public  property,  but  he 
declined  to  do  either,  as  the  whole  State  was  poverty- 
stricken.     He  met  General  ISIeade,  commanding  the  At- 


18  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry. 

lantic  States,  and  had  a  stoj)  put  to  the  military'  authori- 
ties trying  civil  and  criminal  cases,  exce})t  where  negroes 
were  concerned.  He  had  to  act  on  all  pardons  and  ap- 
pointments. No  pardon  was  refused  where  the  applicant 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance.  Governor  Perry  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  all  his  political  measures  which  he 
had  been  contending  for  throughout  his  political  life, 
adopted  l)v  the  State  during  his  Provisional  Governor- 
ship— the  destruction  of  the  Parish  system,  the  election  ol 
Governor  by  the  people,  the  election  by  the  people  ot 
Presidential  Electors,  the  establishment  of  a  Penitentiary 
system,  the  amalgamation  of  the  courts  of  Law  and  Equity, 
the  election  of  the  Judiciar}'  for  a  term  of  years,  and  the 
separation  of  the  State  from  all  banking  and  banks. 

Whilst  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  was  before  the 
Legislature  of  South  Carolina,  and  Governor  Perry  was 
still  holding  his  Pro\dsional  office,  he  wrote  to  AVilham 
H.  Seward,  then  Secretary  of  State,  that  the  Legislature 
objected  to  the  amendment  on  the  ground  that  Congress 
might  claim,  under  the  second  section,  the  power  to  legis- 
late for  the  negro  at  some  future  period,  ]\Ir.  SeAvard  wrote 
in  reply  that  the  objection  was  querulous  and  unreasona- 
ble, and  said  the  second  section,  instead  of  increasing  re- 
strained the  power  of  Congress.  This  constiiictiou  ot 
INIr.  Seward,  Governor  Perry  has  often  remarked,  should 
be  known  and  remembered,  as  Congress  has  since  claimed, 
under  the  second  section  of  the  15th  Amendment,  the 
power  of  legislating  for  the  negro  in  any  and  eveiy  way. 
The  tW'O  sections  are  precisely  the  same  in  both  amendments. 

In  1867,  Governor  Perry  was  a  delegate  from  South 
Carolina  to  the  Philadelphia  Convention,  and  in  1868 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  Convention  which  met 
in  New  York  and  nominated  Seymour  and  Blair  as  can- 
didates for  President  and  Vice-President.  Also,  a  dele- 
gate to  the  St.  Louis  Convention  in  1876,  which  nomi- 
nated Tildeu  and  Hendricks.  Although  constantly  en- 
gaged in  the  troublesome  affairs  of  his  own  State,  and 
taking  an  interest  in  the  struggles   of  the   Democratic 


Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry.  19 

party,  he  still  diligently  pursued  the  practice  of  law  till 
he  became  disgusted  with  the  character  of  the  Judiciary 
of  the  State  atler  the  negro  government  was  forced  upon 
the  people  by  Congressional  reconstruction.  He  has  now 
in  a  great  measure  withdrawn  from  the  law — he  moved 
several  years  ago  to  liis  valuable  farm  near  Greenville ; 
liis  name,  however,  remains  as.'^ciated  with  liis  son  in  the 
practice,  and  he  may  be  seen  in  his  old  office  part  of  his 
time  nearly  every  day.  For  years  past  he  has  entertained 
the  public  and  amused  himself,  by  writing  reminiscences 
of  public  men,  and  personal  reminiscences,  which  have 
been  extensively  circulated  in  the  newspapers,  and  are 
valuable  contributions  to  historical  and  biographical  liter- 
ature. He  is  never  idle  as  a  student  and  writer,  scarcely 
a  week  now  passes  that  some  article  from  liis  pen  does  not 
appear  before  the  public,  but  not  always  over  his  signa- 
ture. One  of  the  most  elaborate  and  finished  productions 
that  Governor  Peny  has  put  forth  is  an  address  delivered 
in  the  spring  of  1876,  before  the  Medical  College  of 
Charleston,  at  the  request  of  the  faculty.  He  had  been  for 
many  years  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  this 
College.  The  subject  of  the  address  was,  "The  Past 
Glory,  the  Present  Degradation  and  the  Future  Hope  of 
South  Carolina."  The  subject  was  treated  in  a  very  able 
manner,  and  the  address  has  received  high  encomiums 
from  the  Charlestonians  and  from  various  other  quarters. 
He  introduced  in  part  of  the  address  many  interesting  facts 
in  medical  history,  and  concluded  vnth.  some  admirable 
suggestions  to  the  students  upon  the  morals  that  should 
govern  the  medical  profession. 

Ever  since  1860,  Governor  Perry  has  enjoyed  the  im- 
divided  confidence  of  the  entire  body  of  the  honest,  intelli- 
gent citizens  of  South  Carolina.  His  reputation  has  been 
co-extensive  with  the  country.  He  has  for  nearly  half  a 
century  distinguished  himself  for  his  active  participation 
in  all  the  important  measures  that  have  been  agitated  in 
South  Carolina,  on  one  side  or  the  other.  He  was  the  real 
leader  of  the  Union  party  in  the  State  for  nearly  thirty 


20  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Perry. 

vears,  although  he  did  not  himself  lay  claim  to  the  position, 
notAvithstandiug  that  party  included  such  men  as  Judge 
Hugcr,  Judge  O'Neall,  Legare,  Poinsett,  Judge  David 
Johnson,  Pettigrew,  and  other  conspicuous  and  able  men. 
He  made  more  six^eches,  wrote  more  for  the  newspapers, 
com})iled  more  statistics  and  information,  and  with  the 
masses  of  that  party  hacT  more  popularity  and  influence, 
than  any  of  them.  These  old  contests  are  terminated  in 
South  Carolina,  Governor  Perry  is  the  only  survivor 
amongst  the  leaders  of  his  old  party,  and  will  take  rank 
in  history'  as  the  most  efficient  of  his  compeers,  as  Mr. 
Callioun  has  undoubtedly  taken  the  first  place  among  the 
hosts  of  able  men  of  his  own  school  of  politics. 

Having  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  Governor,  the 
Legislature  elected  him,  almost  unanimously.  United 
States  Senator  for  six  years.  But  like  all  Southern  Sen- 
ators, Governor  Perry  was  not  allowed  to  take  his  seat  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 

When  the  second  reconstruction  of  the  States  was 
ordered,  Governor  Perry  opposed  it  in  a  series  of  articles, 
which  were  published  throughout  the  Southern  States. 
He  thought  it  better  to  remain  under  a  militarv^  govern- 
ment than  be  governed  by  negroes,  carpet-baggers  and 
scallawags. 

Governor  Perry  preserves  the  dignity  and  courtesy  of 
'manner  always  ascribed  to  him.  He  is  remarkably  familiar 
with  his  friends,  and  accessible  to  all.  He  is  a  capital 
talker,  and  at  the  same  time  a  good  listener.  The  stores 
of  reading,  observation  and  anecdotes  which  he  possesses 
are  freely  disj^ensed,  and  embrace  a  wide  range  in  science, 
literature  and  politics.  He  retains  still  much  vigor  of 
constitution,  and  his  firm  tread  and  elastic  step  would  in- 
dicate that  he  is  a  much  younger  man  than  he  is.  Of 
large  and  commanding  person,  with  striking  intellectuality 
of  face,  he  readily  impresses  every  one  as  being  far  above 
the  mediocrity  of  men,  and  one  of  nature's  true  noblemen. 


FJEMINI^OENOEg 


OF 


PUBLIC  MEN 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 

In  the  summer  of  1846,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  an  in- 
troduction to  John  Quincy  Adams,  in  the  City  of  Wash- 
ington. He  was  then  a  member  of  Congress,  and  had 
been  President  of  the  United  States.  I  had  througli 
Hfe  entertained  a  profound  respect  for  the  character  and 
pubhc  services  of  his  father,  John  Adams,  tlie  successor 
of  Washington  in  the  Presidential  chair.  He  was  one 
of  the  boldest  and  most  uncompromising  patriots  of  the 
revolution.  Mr.  Jeiferson,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life, 
after  a  long  estrangement  with  Mr.  Adams,  spoke  of  his 
honesty,  purity  and  patriotism  as  above  reproach.  The 
father  of  John  Adams  was  a  small  farmer  and  shoe- 
maker in  Massachusetts.  In  his  "writings,  edited  by  his 
grandson,  John  Adams  mentions  his  being  a  laborer  on 
his  father's  farm  in  early  life.  He  graduated  at  Cam- 
bridge, and  intended  to  devote  himself  to  the  ministry, 
but  afterwards  read  law,  and  practiced  his  profession  till 
the  breaking  out  of  the  American  revolution.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Smith,  the  daughter  of  a  clergyman,  who  \\as 
the  mother  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  Shfe  was  a  woman 
of  remarkable  endowments,  and  "svas  strongly  suspected 


22  John  Quincy  Adams. 

of  having  an  undue  influence  over  the  mind  of  her  hus- 
band whilst  he  was  President  of  the  United  States. 
There  was  at  one  ]ieriod  of  tlieir  lives  a  strouo-  friendship 
between  her  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  which  ]\Ir.  Jefferson 
attempted  to  revive  after  his  retirement  from  public  life, 
but  she  M'ould  not  be  reconciled  to  him  though  her  hus- 
band Mas. 

I  was  introduced  to  John  Q.  Adams  by  Mr.  Grinell, 
a  member  of  Congress  from  INIassachusetts.  ]\lr.  Adams 
Mas  the  representative  of  the  toMuship  of  Sherbarn,  the 
ancestral  home  of  my  father,  and  his  ancestors  for  two 
centuries  past.  My  father  moved  to  South  Carohna  in 
1784,  and  I  was  anxious  to  knoAV  if  any  of  the  family 
were  still  living  there.  ]\Ir.  Adams  invited  me  to  call 
at  his  house  in  Washing't<m  the  next  morning,  and  he 
■would  show  me  a  list  of  all  the  military  officers  in  his 
congressional  district,  and  give  me  all  the  information  he 
could  in  reference  to  my  kindred  in  Sherbarn.  I  called 
at  ten  o'clock  and  found  the  family  at  breakfast.  Avery 
genteel  looking  negro  boy  met  me  at  the  door,  and  in- 
vited me  into  the  parlor.  Knowing,  as  I  did,  the  strong 
and  bitter  abolition  feelings  of  Mr.  Adams,  I  w-as  some- 
w'hat  surprised  to  find  a  negro  in  a  menial  capacity  at 
his  house.  In  a  fcAv  minutes  INIr.  Adams  made  his  ap- 
pearance in  a  round-about  osnaburg  coat  or  jacket.  He 
received  me  very  graciously,  and  asked  me  to  excuse  his 
dress.  The  book  Avas  produced  and  I  found  that  there 
Avere  several  of  my  name  still  living  in  the  township  of 
Sherbarn.  I  spent  some  time  in  conversation  M'ith  him. 
He  informed  me  that  he  had,  in  the  preceding  summer, 
made  the  same  tour  through  Canada ;  Avhich  I  contem- 
plated, after  visiting  Boston.  In  his  manners  Mr. 
Adams  Avas  very  plain  and  simple,  M'ithout  an}'  preten- 
sions" or  assumption  Avhatever.  He  Mas  mild  and  gentle, 
but  there  M-as  nothing  cordial  or  captivating  about  him. 
I  did  not  think  him,  hoMCver,  austere  or  morose.  He 
M'as  courteous,  quiet  and  calm  in  his  manners.  In  stature 
he  M^as  short,  but  mcII  built.     His  face  and  couutenanc3 


John  Quincy  Aimms. 

indicated  kindness  and  benevolence;  and  I  could  not, 
whilst  looking  at  him  and  talking  to  him,  realize  the 
fact  that  he  had  manifested  so  much  passion  and  bitter- 
ness as  he  had  done  in  his  speeches  in  Congress  on  the 
subject  of  the  South  and  her  institutions.  How  true  it 
is  that  men  appear  very  different  in  different  stations  and 
under  different  circumstances !  Some  men  have  two  dif- 
ferent characters  in  public  and  private  life.  The  most 
disagreeable  judge  I  ever  practiced  before  at  the  bar,  was, 
in  private,  one  of  the  most  pleasant  gentlemen  I  ever 
knew. 

In  early  life  I  had  great  regard  for  John  Q.  Adams 
as  a  statesman  and  patriot,  and  in  the  canvass  of  1824  I 
preferred  him  for  President  to  General  Jackson  or  Mr. 
Clay.  I  thought  his  long  public  services,  his  great  ex- 
perience at  home  and  abroad,  with  his  talents  and  attain- 
ments ought  to  have  given  him  a  preference  over  his 
opponents.  His  administration  of  the  government  for 
four  years,  was  a  wise,  just  and  most  economical  one,  and 
if  he  had  then  retired  from  public  life  it  would  have  been 
fortunate  for  his  fame  and  reputation  as  a  man  and  a 
statesman. 

A  day  or  two  afler  this  interview  with  Mr.  Adams,  I 
met  him  again  on  the  public  ground  fronting  the  Presi- 
dential mansion.  There  was  a  large  concourse  of  persons 
— ladies  and  gentlemen — strolling  over  the  grounds  in 
the  cool  of  the  evening,  listening  to  the  music  of  a  mag- 
nificent band  in  the  pay  of  the  Government.  Mr.  Adams 
was  walking  entirely  alone,  and  seemed  to  pass  through 
the  crowd  unnoticed  and  noticing  no  one.  As  he  came 
up  General  Thompson  and  myself  spoke  to  him.  The 
General  made  some  remark  about  the  occupant  of  the 
Wliite  House  always  having  an  unpleasant  and  unhajipy 
life,  amidst  the  cares  and  disturbances  which  constantly 
beset  him.  He  replied  that  he  had  not  found  it  so.  He 
had  occupied  the  House  for  four  years,  and  they  were 
the  most  pleas&nt,  agreeable  years  of  his  life. 


24  JoHif  QuiNCY  Adams. 

I  (lid  not  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  Mr.  Adams 
speak  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  It  was  said  that 
he  always  spoke  well,  and  eonnnanded  the  attention  of 
the  House.  The  members  drew  near  to  him  and  hud- 
dled around  him  whenever  he  commeneed  sj^x-aking. 
This  was  owing  in  part,  no  doubt,  to  his  reputation  as  a 
statesman  and  the  high  places  he  had  filled  in  the  Re- 
public. And  perhaps,  also,  to  the  bitter  partisan  and 
sectional  feelings  which  always  characterized  his  remarks. 
I  noticed  that  he  was  never  out  of  his  seat  when  the 
House  w^as  in  session.  He  took  great  pride  in  sitting 
there  all  night  on  one  or  Uvo  occasions.  He  died  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  I  have  no  doubt  it  Avas 
the  wish  of  his  heart  to  die  there. 

In  all  human  characters  there  are  always  blended  good 
and  evil.  No  one  is  perfect,  no  not  one,  says  Holy  Writ. 
With  equal  truth  it  may  be  said  that  there  is  no  one 
without  his  virtues.  The  experience  of  every  man  is,  I 
think,  that  he  never  knew  any  one  intimately  who  had 
not  some  redeeming  traits  of  character.  It  often  happens 
that  the  highest  virtues  are  linked  with  great  faults. 
John  Quincy  Adams  had  high  qualities,  with  great  faults, 
as  a  public  man.  He  was  truthful,  honest  and  isatriotic, 
but  selfish,  ambitious  and  fanatical.  He  was  a  man  of 
wonderful  attainments  and  great  ability.  He  discharged 
with  great  credit  to  himself  and  his  country,  all  the  high 
offices  which  he  had  filled,  including  that  of  the  Presi- 
dency. He  then  lent  the  great  powers  of  his  mind  to  a 
sectional  and  fanatical  party,  which  ultimately  overthrew 
our  republican  institutions,  and  established  a  military 
despotism  over  one-third  of  the  country,  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  negro  supremacy  in  the  Southern  States. 
What  the  final  result  will  be,  of  this  folly  and  madness, 
no  one  can  tell. 


ANDREW  JACKSON. 

In  1833  or  '34  I  was  passing  through  the  lower  part 
of  Anderson  District,  South  Carolina,  called  the  "  Dark 
Corner,"  lying  on  the  Savannah  River  where  I  heard  of 
"old  Mrs.  Stinson,"  a  Revolutionary  matron  who  had 
been  the  schoolmate  of  General  Andrew  Jackson,  then 
President  of  the  United  States.  I  determined  to  pay  the 
lady  a  visit  and  learn  all  I  could  from  her  about  the  early 
history  of  the  hero  of  New  Orleans.  "Eaton's  Life  of 
Jackson,"  the  only  biography  of  him  that  I  had  then 
read,  was  very  brief  in  regard  to  his  family  and  early 
history. 

I  found  "old  Mrs.  Stiuson,"  who  spelt  her  name 
Stephenson,  a  plain  uneducated,  though  good-looking  and 
intelligent  old  lady.  She  was  yeiy  much  respected  by 
her  neighbors,  and  had  around  her  a  large  family  of  sons 
and  daughters,  who  were  gro^vn  up  and  most  of  them 
married.  All  were  respectable,  though  all  were  poor. 
The  husband  of  "  old  Mrs.  Stiuson"  had  been  dead  some 
years  before  my  visit. 

Mrs.  Stinson  seemed  pleased  at  the  object  of  my  visit, 
and  said  she  ^vould  most  cheerfully  tell  me  all  she  kne\v 
about  the  early  history  of  "Andrew;"  she  had  never 
known  or  called  him  by  any  other  name.  She  said  they 
were  both  born  in  the  "  AVaxhaw  neighborhood,"  Lan- 
ca.ster  District,  South  Carolina.  Their  parents  lived  very 
near  each  other,  and  were  veiy  intimate.  She  and  "An- 
drew," were  about  the  same  age,  and  went  to  school  to- 
gether. She  did  not  know  the  father  of  General  Jackson. 
He  died  before  her  recollection  of  him.  He  and  his  wife 
were  both  from  Ireland.     They  had  three  children,  al 


26  Andrew  Jackson. 

sous,  and  Andrew  was  the  youugest.  Andrew  was  going 
to  a  grammar  school  kept  in  the  AYaxhaw  Chnrch,  Avhen 
the  Kevohitiouarv  war  broke  out  in  South  Carolina. 
As  the  contest  grew  warm,  the  school  was  abandoned  and 
the  school-house  burnt  down.  In  the  mean  time  one  of 
Andrew's  brothers  died,  and  the  other  eutercxl  the  ser- 
vice of  his  country.  During,  the  war  this  brother  died 
with  the  small-pox.  At  one  period  the  Waxhaw  settle- 
ment became  the  seat  of  war  in  South  Carolina  and  was 
laid  desolate  and  left  without  inhabitants.  It  was  during 
this  distressing  period  that  Andrew  himself,  then  a  youth 
of  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  had  joined  the  American 
army.  His  services  were  imknown  to  Mrs.  Stinson. 
She  had  understood  that  he  was  taken  a  prisoner  by  the 
British  and  had  received  a  blow  with  a  sword,  from  a 
British  officer,  for  not  performing  some  menial  office. 
There  were  two  cousins  of  Andrew,  in  the  army  with 
him.  One  of  them  was  killed  and  the  other  was  taken  a 
prisoner  and  carried  to  Charleston.  •  He  was  taken  sick 
and  jNIrs.  Jackson  lost  her  life  in  attempting  to  visit  him ; 
she  fell  a  victim  to  the  climate  and  season,  and  her 
nephew  soon  followed  her.  This  left  Andrew  without  a 
relation  in  the  world  known  to  him,  a  stranger,  not  more 
than  fifteen  or  sixteen  years,  in  a  newly  settled  country. 
"What  little  property  his  family  had  possessed  was  all 
taken  or  destroyed  by  the  enemy.  When  peace  was  re- 
stored to  the  country  he  found  himself  alone  in  the 
world,  without  home  or  kindred,  money  or  the  means  of 
supporting  himself  One  would  naturally  have  supposed, 
seeing  him  at  this  time,  that  he  stood  very  little  chance 
of  being  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  Earl 
of  ISIansfield  says,  when  a  boy,  he  rode  up  to  London  on 
a  bobtail  pony  to  seek  his  fortune  in  that  great  city,  and 
if  one  had  met  him  it  would  never  have  entered  his  im- 
agination that  he  Mas  meeting  the  future  Lord  Chan- 
cellor of  England  or  Chief  Justice.  So  it  would  have 
been  with  one  meeting  Andrew^  Jackson,  at  this  time. 


Andrew  Jackson.  27 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  Andrew  made  tlie  house  of  a 
Mr.  White,  an  uncle  of  Mrs.  Stinson,  his  home.  White 
was  a  saddler,  and  Andrew  worked  with  him  at  his  trade 
for  twelve  or  eighteen  months.  Tins  tact  I  had  never 
heard  before,  and  was  not  mentioned  in  any  life  or 
sketch  of  General  Jackson,  then  published.  I  asked 
Mrs.  Stinson,  if  she  was  certain  of  the  truth  of  her  state- 
ment. She  said  she  was,  for  she  herself  had  seen  him  at 
work  often  at  her  imcle's,  making  saddles.  I  was  then 
writing  "Revolutionary  Incidents,"  and  wrote  one  on 
General  Jackson  in  which  I  mentioned  this  fact.  It  was 
republished  in  a  great  many  of  the  newspapers.  Some 
time  afterAvards,  I  saw  the  first  number  of  a  life  of  An- 
drew Jackson,  written  by  Amos  Randall,  Postmaster- 
General,  under  President  Jackson,  in  which  it  was  stated 
by  authority  of  Gener&l  Jackson,  that  he  did  work  for 
some  time  at  the  saddler's  trade,  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  war.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  life 
of  Jackson,  by  Randall,  was  never  completed,  and  I  do 
not  loiow  that  more  than  one  number  of  it  was  ever  pub- 
lished. Parton's  life  of  General  Jackson,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  biographies  that  I  ever  read,  and  pub-' 
lished  since  his  death,  also  mentions  the  fact  of  his  work- 
ing at  the  saddler's  trade.  Strange  it  may  appear  to  the 
royalty  and  aristocracy  of  Europe,  that  three  of  the 
Presidents,  of  this  great  Republic  worked  at  mechanical 
trades.  Jackson,  a  saddler,  Johnson,  a  tailor,  and  Grant, 
a  tanner  !  I  believe  President  Fillmore,  too,  worked  at 
some  mechanical  trade,  and  President  Lincoln,  was  a 
common  laborer  splitting  rails  in  early  youth. 

I  inquired  of  Mrs.  Stinson,  if  there  was  am-thing 
peculiar  about  Andrew  Jackson,  in  his  boyhood,  and 
whether  he  displayed  any  extraordinary  talents  or  genius. 
She  replied  that  she  herself  was  veiy  young  and  not  ca- 
pable of  judging  of  his  talents.  She  did  not  remember 
that  there  were  any  peculiar  traits  in  his  character,  or 
that  he  was  diiferent  from  other  boys  of  his  age.  She 
said  that  she  liked  him  very  much,  and  so  did  all  of  her 


28  Andrew  Jackson. 

family.  He  Avas  cordial  and  Avann-hearted.  He  quit 
the  .saddler's  trade  and  went  to  ISali.sburv,  North  Caro- 
lina, tt)  read  law.  She  never  saw  him  afterwards,  or 
heard  of  him  till  the  war  of  1814,  when  he  was  fif>;htiug 
the  Creek  Indians,  The  old  lady  said  if  she  were  now 
to  meet  him  she  should  still  be  inclined  to  call  him  An- 
drew. 

Mrs.  Stinson  had  nothing  to  say  about  his  being  ^v\\d 
or  frolicsome  in  his  youth.  Partou  does  tell  a  good 
many  of  his  frolics  at  Salisbury,  and  I  have  heard  that 
in  j)ulling  down  some  old  house,  which  had  been  a  retail 
shop  in  that  town,  an  old  day-book  kept  by  the  retailer, 
was  discovered  between  the  ceilings  and  weather-board- 
ing, in  which  Andrew  Jackson,  was  charged  with  a 
goodly  number  of  half-pints. 

A  man  who  displayed  such  turbulent  passions  in  man- 
hood as  General  Jackson  did,  must  have  had  a  great  deal 
of  tire  and  recklessness  in  youth,  which  either  escaped  the 
observation  of  a  young  girl  like  ]\Irs.  Stinson,  or  passed 
out  of  her  memory  in  old  age.  Judge  Cheves  mentioned 
to  me  how  cpiickly  the  countenance  of  General  Jackson 
could  change  from  benio-n  gentleness  to  terrific  wrath. 
The  Judge  was  seated  by  him  at  a  public  dinner  in  Phil- 
adelphia. He  had  never  seen  him  before,  and  was  struck 
with  his  gentle,  benign  countenance.  The  name  of  some 
one  Avith  whom  Jackson  had  recently  had  a  controversy 
was  mentioned,  and  he  turned  his  face  to  look  in  that 
direction.  AVhen  the  Judge  looked  at  his  countenance 
again,  he  said  it  reminded  him  of  a  thunder  cloud,  so 
dark,  so  angry,  and  so  full  of  fire. 

The  Hon.  Richard  Cunningham,  of  Charleston,  told 
me  that  he  once  visited  General  Jackson,  at  the  Her- 
mitage, and  found  him  reading  a  book,  Avhich  was  laid  on 
the  table  as  he  entered  the  room.  The  countenance  of 
General  Jackson,  seemed  terrific  with  rage  and  passion. 
In  a  moment,  however,  it  changed,  and  was  mild  and  gentle. 
Mr.  Cunningham  thought  there  must  have  been  some- 
thing in  the  book  M-hich  had  excited  him,  and  in  the  course 


.  Andrew  Jackson.  29 

of  the  visit  he  opened  the  book  to  see  what  it  ^yas.  He 
found  that  the  old  General  had  been  reading  Clay's 
speech  on  the  Seminole  war,  in  which  he  arraigned  Gen- 
eral Jackson's  conduct  as  arbitrary,  tyrannical  and  law- 
less. 

The  indomitable  self-will  of  General  Jackson,  was  pow- 
erful and  is  characteristically  illustrated  by  the  remark  of 
a  wag  who  heard  a  discussion  between  two  religious 
persons  after  his  death,  whether  he  had  gone  to  heaven 
or  not.  The  wag  said  if  General  Jackson  determined  to 
go  to  heaven  when  he  died  the  devil  could  not  stop  him. 
It  is  said  by  his  biographer,  Parton,  that  he  never  failed, 
but  in  one  instance,  to  accomplish  what  he  had  deter- 
mined on,  and  that  was  the  introduction  of  Mrs.  Eaton 
into  society  in  Washington.  In  order  to  accomplish  this 
purpose  he  broke  up  his  Cabinet,  dismissed  his  niece  from 
the  White  House,  and  fell  out  with  most  of  his  friends 
about  the  Federal  City. 

General  Jackson's  manner,  when  excited,  was  as  violent 
and  stormy,  as  his  self-will  was  perverse  and  indomitable. 
It  is  said,  however,  that  there  Mas  always  method  in  his 
madness.  He  very  coolly  considered  evers'  question  first, 
and  cautiously  resolved  upon  his  course  of  action ;  then  he 
defended  his  action  with  towering  passion  and  rage,  which 
made  persons  believe  that  he  always  acted  from  impulse. 
Mr.  Poinsett,  who  knew  him  well,  said  that  he  M'ould 
often  come  to  a  correct  conclusion  without  being  able  to 
assign  the  proper  reasons  for  it.  In  this  respect  he  com- 
pared the  old  hero  to  a  woman,  and  said  his  wisdom  was 
of  the  heart  and  not  of  the  head. 

James  McDaniel,  a  negro  trader  from  South  Carolina, 
accidentally  met  General  Jackson  at  a  wayside  hotel  in 
Virginia,  on  his  way  to  Washington,  during  our  war  of 
nullification  in  South  Carolina,  and  inquired  of  him,  jest- 
ingly, what  he  was  going  to  do  with  the  nullifiers?  The 
General  replied,  "  I  was  born  in  South  Carolina,  and  there 
used  to  be  a  great  many  grape  vines  there.  I  hope  there 
are  still  enough  left  to  hang  all  the  uulHfiers  with."     In 


30  Andrew  Jackson. 

one  of  his  State  papers  he  says  that  Soutli  Carolina  is  his 
native  State.  Mrs.  Stinson  told  me  that  he  was  born  in 
South  Carolina.  But  Partou  shows  very  clearly  that  the 
house  in  which  General  Jackson  Avas  born  was  a  few  yards 
bevond  the  South  Carolina  line,  and  in  North  Carolina. 
The  house  was  supposed  to  be,  at  that  time,  in  South  Caro- 
lina, and  South  Carolinians  were  altogether  his  associates 
in  boyhood.  The  Waxhaw  settlement  was  in  South  Caro- 
lina; where  he  went  to  school  and  attended  clim'ch,  A\here 
he  was  captured  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  where 
he  M'orked  at  the  saddler's  trade  after  the  war  was  over. 

In  speaking  of  General  Jackson's  striking  appearance 
and  courtly  manner.  General  Waddy  Thompson  said  to 
me,  "  If  you  were  passing  through  a  strange  country  and 
met  him  in  the  road,  you  would  be  so  much  impressed 
with  his  appearance  and  manner,  that  you  would  be  in- 
duced to  stop  at  the  next  house  and  inquire  who  he  was. 
After  fighting  the  Creek  IncUaus  in  several  most  success- 
ful and  brilliant  engagements,  he  went  to  Xew  Orleans 
to  defend  the  city  against  the  attack  of  the  British  under 
General  Packenham.  Mr.  Li\'ingston  invited  him  to 
his  house,  and  told  Mrs.  Livingston  to  prepare  for  -his 
reception.  She  was  a  gay,  fashionable  lady  from  Xew 
York,  and  expected  to  find  in  the  General  a  very  rough, 
unpolished  hero.  She  invited  a  good  many  of  her  aris- 
tocratic friends  to  be  present.  The  ladies  were  making 
some  sarcastic  remarks  about  the  rough,  uncouth  hero, 
whom  they  were  invited  to  meet,  when  General  Jackson 
entered  the  room  with  the  bearing  and  dignity  of  a  prince, 
bowed  gracefully  and  courteously  to  the  ladies,  took  jNIrs. 
Livingston  by  the  hand  on  being  presented  to  her,  seated 
her  on  the  sofa,  took  his  place  by  her  side,  and  entered 
into  a  most  pleasant  and  interesting  conversation.  The 
ladies  immediately  said  to  one  another,  instead  of  being 
the  awkward,  uncouth  savage  they  expected  to  see,  he 
had  all  the  grace  and  high-bred  manners  of  a  court. 

It  is  remarkable  that  some  persons  of  humble  birth, 
wdth  rough  associates  for  companions  all  their  hves,  never- 


Andrew  Jackson.  31 

theless,  have  the  tone,  bearing  and  grace  of  a  gentleman, 
whilst  others  who  were  born  and  educated  with  refined 
and  accomplished  associates,  are  rustic  and  clownish  in 
their  manners.  General  Jackson's  early  life  was  such  as 
Mrs.  Stinson  stated  it  to  be,  and  he  moved  to  Tennessee 
immediately  after  his  admission  to  the  Bar,  a  State 
then  having  been  settled  with  a  hardy,  rough,  uneducated 
frontier  population,  living  in  log  cabins  and  laboring  in 
their  fields,  hunting  wild  animals  and  defending  them- 
selves against  the  savages  who  surrounded  them.  How 
could  any  one,  thus  brought  up  and  thus  Hving,  be  re- 
fined, courteous  and  dignified  unless  these  qualities  were 
innate  ?  Jackson  was  a  born  hero  and  a  gentleman.  ]\Ir. 
Jefferson,  in  describing  Patrick  Henry,  says  his  educa- 
tion was  verj^  defective,  and  his  associates  had  been  over- 
seers and  hunters,  and  yet,  in  the  society  of  gentlemen, 
his  manners  were  as  good,  and  his  conversation  as  correct 
as  any  of  the  company.  He  was  one  of  nature's  noble- 
men, and  so  was  Jackson.  Kings  may  make  and  un- 
make their  nobles,  but  the  nobility  of  nature  cannot 
be  changed. 


ANDREW  JOHNSON. 

In  the  summer  of  1846,  President  Johnson  was 
pointed  out  to  me,  by  Major  Simpson,  whilst  sitting  in 
his  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives  as  a  member  of 
of  Congress  from  Tennessee,  who  had  once  Avorked  at 
the  tailor's  trade,  in  the  village  of  Laurens,  South  Caro- 
lina. On  my  return  home,  I  passed  through  Greenville, 
Tennessee,  and  was  detained  there  a  day,  waiting  for  the 
Asheville  stage.  The  residence  and  tailor  shop  of  the 
future  President  of  the  United  States  were  shown  me  by 
the  landlord.  The  sign-board  with  the  name  of  Andrew 
Johnson,  was  still  over  the  door  of  the  shop.  No  false 
shame  had  induced  him  to  remove  it.  I  thought  then  it 
showed  the  true  greatness  of  his  character. 

I  never  saw  President  Johnson  afterwards  till  my  ap- 
pointment by  him  as  Provisional  Governor  of  South 
Carolina.  His  extraorchnary  career,  had  however,  fre- 
quently attracted  my  notice.  I  had  read  many  of  his 
speeches  with  great  admiration  for  their  soundness  in 
reference  to  the  powers  of  the  Federal  and  State  govern- 
ments. In  1858,  my  son,  who  was  in  the  naval  school 
at  Annapolis,  visited  Washington,  and  called  to  see  Mr. 
Johnson,  who  was  then  United  States  Senator,  and  had 
been  Governor  of  the  State  of  Tennessee.  He  said  to  my 
son  that  he  knew  me  very  well.  He  said  the  same  to 
Judge  Frost  and  Governor  Swain,  just  before  my  ap- 
pointment as  Provisional  Governor.  AVhen  I  went  to 
Washington  to  get  my  commission  and  receive  my  in- 
structions, I  said  to  the  President  that  I  would  like  to 
know  how  he  came  to  appoint  me?  He  replied,  "I 
lived  only  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  from  you, 


Andrew  Johnson.  33 

and  of  course  knew  all  about  you."  I  thought  it  likely  he 
"would  say  that  he  kuew  something  about  nie,  or  had  seen 
me  whilst  he  was  living  in  South  Carolina.  But  he 
made  no  allusion  to  any  such  knowledge  or  acquaintance. 
I  have  since  been  informed  by  a  citizen  of  Greenville 
that  he  did  remain  here  a  short  time  after  leaving  Lau- 
rensville. 

President  Johnson  came  to  Laurens,  C.  H.,  South 
Carolina,  in  1827,  and  remained  there  two  years,  work- 
ing as  a  journeyman  tailor.  He  came  from  Raleigh, 
North  Carolina,  where  he  was  born  and  served  his  ap- 
prenticeship. Whilst  working  at  Laurens  he  became 
engaged  to  a  young  lady  in  the  neighborhood,  and  went 
one  Sunday  morning  to  ask  her  mother,  who  was  a 
widow  lady,  for  the  hand  of  her  daughter.  He  told 
Governor  Orr  that  he  saw  by  the  old  lady's  manner  that 
she  was  not  favorably  disposed  towards  him.  It  was 
late  in  the  evening  before  he  could  muster  up  courage  to 
"pop  the  question."  When  he  did  so,  the  old  lady  told 
him  \ery  plainly  that  her  daughter  should  not  marry  a 
tailor,  and  intimated  that  she  suspected  he  wanted  some 
of  her  negroes.  The  young  tailor  boy,  and  future  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  was  so  mortified  at  the  rebulf 
he  had  received  that  he  determined  to  quit  Laurens,  and 
did  so  the  next  day. 

How  unfortunate  for  the  daughter  was  the  ill  judg- 
ment of  the  mother.  Had  she  given  her  consent  her 
daughter  might  have  been  the  occupant  of  the  White 
House,  mistress  of  ceremonies  and  fashion  in  Washington, 
receiving  and  entertaining  foreign  ministers  and  their 
ladies,  instead  of  being  as  she  is,  the  humble  wife  of  a 
poor  and  obscure  man.  On  the  other  hand,  it  might 
have  disappointed  the  high  destiny  of  the  tailor  boy.  In- 
stead of  being  President  of  the  United  States,  he  might 
be  still  pursuing  his  humble  vocation.  But  this  is  not 
very  likely.  A  man  with  President  Johnson's  natural 
endowments,   intellectually    and  morally,    could    hardly 


34  Andrew  Johnson. 

pass  throuii;]!  life  in  this  American  ]\c'[>ul)lic,  Mithont 
elevating  himself  and  acqniring;  honor  and  distinction. 

It  is  a  remarkable  and  most  wonderf'nl  fact,  that  1^'esi- 
dent  Johnson  never  went  to  school  a  day  in  his  life  ! 
His  father,  who  was  a  most  worthy  and  excellent  man, 
filling  the  office  of  town  constable,  in  Raleigh,  N.  C, 
messenger  of  the  bank  and  sexton  of  a  ehnrch,  died  ^hen 
his  son  was  only  two  years  old.  The  family  were  left  in 
poverty,  and  at  the  age  of  ten  years,  Andrew  was  bound 
as  an  apprentice  to  the  trade  of  a  tailor.  Whilst  Mork- 
ing  as  an  ajjprentice,  some  one  came  into  the  shop  with  a 
book  of  speeches,  and  read  one  to  the  boys.  This  speech 
delighted  Andrew  Johnson  so  much  that  he  determined 
to  learn  to  read  himself.  The  book  was  given  to  him, 
and  in  this  book,  with  the  assistance  of  his  fellow-appren- 
tices, he  learned  his  letters,  and  learned  to  read ;  after 
that,  a  book  of  some  sort  was  ever  his  constant  com- 
panion. His  wife  taught  him  to  write  and  cipher  after 
they  were  married.  In  the  mean  time  he  must  have  had 
his  mind  well  stored  with  a  great  deal  of  useful  reading. 

ISIine  host,  John  Simmons,  of  Lam'ens  village,  has 
frequently  given  me  the  early  history  of  Andrew  John- 
son, whilst  there.  He  and  Simmons  slept  together  in 
the  same  bed,  and  ate  together  at  the  same  table  for  a 
good  portion  of  the  two  years  he  remained  at  Laurens. 
He  was  a  verj-  sober,  correct  and  industrious  boy,  and 
always  spent  his  leisure  time  in  reading.  Mr.  Simmons 
remembers  well  that  he  had  constantly  by  him  a  book 
whilst  at  work.  Colonel  Garlington  has  given  me  the 
same  account  of  Johnson's  habits  and  unexceptionable  de- 
portment whilst  at  Laurens.  Mr.  Samuel  Murphy  tells 
me  that  he  remembers  Andrew  Johnson  being  in  Green- 
ville, S.  C,  for  a  short  time  after  he  left  Laurens.  Mr. 
Murphy  says  he  was  fond  of  music,  never  drank  spirits, 
veiy  industrious  and  quiet,  talked  but  little,  and  always 
had  a  book  by  his  side. 

From  Greenville,  South  Carolina,  Andrew  Johnson 
went  to  Greenville,  Tennessee,  where  he  established  him- 


Andreav  Johnson.  35 

self  as  a  tailor,  and  soon  ac(|uire<l  the  confidence  of  the 
little  conmiunity  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  first  elected 
one  of  the  town  council,  then  mayor  of  the  village.  In  a 
few  veal's  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
State  Senator,  member  of  Congress  and  Governor  of  the 
State.  Then  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
appointed  INIilitary  Governor  of  Tennessee,  by  President 
Lincoln,  and  electa!  Vice  President  of  the  United  States. 
He  now  fills  and  has  filled  for  three  years  past,  with  sig- 
nal ability  and  fidelity  to  the  constitution,  the  illastrious 
office  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  great  American  Re- 
public, once  filled  by  the  immortal  Washington. 

Judge  Huger  said  to  me,  thirty  or  forty  years  since,  in 
advocating  the  election  of  Langdon  Cheves  to  the  Presi- 
dency, "  What  a  beautiful  illustration  it  would  be  of  the 
principles  of  our  republican  government,  to  see  a  man 
filling  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  Republic  who  had 
risen  from  the  ranks  of  the  people,  without  education, 
wealth  or  family  influence,  by  his  omti  exertions,  talents, 
patriotism  and  moral  worth !  This  has  been  most  sig- 
nally the  case  with  Andrew  Johnson.  It  is  wonderful 
how  he  should  ever  have  overcome  the  obstacles  in  his 
path,  even  with  his  great  talents,  indomitable  energy  and 
perseverance.  President  Johnson  is  now  one  of  the  best 
Avriters  and  speakers  in  America.  This  is  abundantly 
shown  b}^  his  messages,  and  famous  speeches  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States.  He  is  also  a  gentleman  of  high 
attainments  and  scholarship.  His  manners  are  those  of  a 
high-bred  gentleman,  courteous  and  kind,  simple,  and 
unaffected,  and  at  all  times  calm  and  dignified.  In  his 
intercourse  M'ith  his  fellow-men,  there  is  no  assumption 
of  dignity  or  insolence  of  office  about  him.  He  receives 
pleasantly,  cheerfully  and  kindly,  all  who  approach  him, 
whether  humble  or  high,  rich  or  poor.  By  nature,  as 
well  as  education  and  habit.  President  Johason  is  a 
Democrat.  He  loves  the  peo]:)le  sincerely  and  affec- 
tionately. If  the  Republicans  supposed,  by  honoring 
and  elevating  Andrew  Johnson  to  the  Presidency,  they 


36  Andrew  Johnson. 

could  wean  him  from  his  Democratic  principles,  greatly 
were  they  mistaken,  and  grievously  have  they  paid  the 
penalty  of  tiieir  mistake — a  mistake  which  has  rescued 
the  country  from  usurpation,  tyraimy  and  op})rcssion. 
He  is  a  man  of  ji;reat  firnuiess,  and  most  stubborn  will. 
He  has  all  the  courage  of  Andrew  Jackson,  without  his 
passionate  indiscretions.  Nothing  can  move  him  from 
liis  })urpose,  neither  the  seductions  of  office,  nor  the 
terrors  of  impeachment.  In  appearance  he  is  a  fine- 
looking  gentleman,  about  medium  height,  well  propor- 
tioned, and  graceful  in  his  person  and  address.  His 
head  is  large  and  roimd,  with  full  face,  regular  features, 
black  hair,  and  piercing  eyes.  Andrew  Johnson  would 
be  a  marked  man  in  any  company  or  society  in  Europe 
or  America. 

On  my  arrival  in  Washington,  after  my  appointment 
as  Provisional  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  I  called  to 
see  the  President,  by  appointment,  at  three  o'clock,  with 
eight  or  ten  gentlemen  from  the  South.  I  gave  him  a 
true  statement  of  the  condition  and  feelings  of  the  people 
of  South  Carolina,  which  he  listened  to  with  profound 
attention  and  interest.  He  requested  me  to  call  on  Mr. 
Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  and  report  the  same  statement 
to  him.  In  regard  to  the  reconstruction  of  the  State  of 
South  Carolina,  our  views  were  the  same,  except  as  to  the 
basis  of  representation  on  w^hich  the  convention  should  be 
called.  He  insisted  on  the  white  basis,  and  was  sus- 
tained by  Governor  Orr,  who  was  present.  He  likewise 
thought  the  parish  system  should  be  ignored  in  calling 
the  convention.  I  urged  that  this  should  be  left  for  the 
convention  to  destroy,  and  that  taxation  and  population 
should  be  the  basis  of  representation.  He  said  to  me,  in 
the  course  of  the  discussion,  that  one  reason  for  selecting 
me  as  a  Provisional  Governor  was,  that  I  lived  in  that 
l)ortion  of  the  State  ^^•here  there  was  the  largest  white 
jwpulation.  In  regard  to  the  rights  of  the  States,  and 
the  constitutional  poAvers  of  the  general  government,  our 
views  were  identical. 


Andrew  Johnson.  37 

The  second  visit  I  paid  the  President  was  at  seven  in 
the  evening,  and  we  remained  closeted  alone  till  ten.  He 
said  to  me  that  he  had  always  been  equally  opposed  to 
dismiion  and  abolition.  He  had  tried  hard  to  avoid  both 
these  issues.  When  the  Southern  Senators  w^ere  resigning 
their  seats  he  implored  them  to  remain  and  defend  the 
rights  of  the  South,  and  save  the  government  from  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  abolitionists.  He  warned  them  that 
the  consequences  would  be  the  destruction  of  their  prop- 
erty in  slaves,  and  the  ruin  of  the  South.  Throughout 
his  public  life  he  said  he  had  fought  the  secessionists  on 
one  side  and  the  abolitionists  on  the  other.  He  was  for 
maintaining  the  Union  and  slavery  both,  but  when  the 
issue  was  forced  on  him,  he  gave  up  slavery  and  adheral 
to  the  Union. 

I  called  to  see  him  a  third  time,  and  told  him  I  should 
leave  the  next  morning  for  South  Carolina.  He  asked 
me  about  issuing  my  proclamation,  and  when  I  informed 
him  that  I  had  already  written  and  fonvarded  it  to 
Columbia  for  publication,  he  seemed  surprised,  and  in- 
quired what  I  had  said  in  it.  I  told  him  that  I  had  re- 
stored the  State  government,  and  all  its  officers,  on  their 
taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States,  that  I 
had  done  this  to  save  the  trouble  of  making  appointments 
all  over  the  State;  that  there  were  no  Union  men  in  South 
Carolina  to  fill  these  offices,  and  that  I  had  implicit  con- 
fidence in  the  loyalty  and  fidelity  of  all  the  people  in  the 
State.  He  made  no  objections  to  anj-thing  contained  in 
my  proclamation,  but  thought  I  had  acted  very  quickly 
in  issuing  it.  I  told  him  as  South  Carolina  was  the  fii-st 
State  to  go  out  of  the  Union,  I  was  anxious  she  should  be 
the  first  to  come  back. 

I  have  seen  President  Johnson  frequently  during  the 
past  three  years,  and  have  ha<l  several  pleasant  con\'crsa- 
tions  A\-ith  him.  He  alwavs  expressed  the  hope  and  belief 
that  Congress  would  ultimately  ad(jpt  his  plan  of  recon- 
struction. He  relied  with  great  confidence  on  tlie  ])eople, 
and    thought   there  would    be   a    reaction  at  the  North. 


38  Andrew  Johnson. 

On  one  of  my  visits  to  him  I  found  liini  addrossinj;  a  re- 
ligious a.s^ooiation  for  the  rehef  of  Fcxlcral  sol<hers,  and 
he  used  the  following;  language:  "  Mv  religion  emlmioes 
all  sects,  and  1  regard  every  lionest  man  as  jny  l)rother. 
Mv  ])atriotism  knows  no  North,  no  East,  no  A\\'st,  no 
South,  but  embraces  equally  my  whole  country." 

It  has  been  said  and  Avidely  circulated  that  President 
Johnson  was  intemperate.  There  never  was,  perhaps, 
less  foundation  for  such  a  calumny.  He  has  always  Ijeen 
a  most  temjx'rate  man  throughout  his  whole  life.  This 
will  be  testified  to  by  .all  who  knew  him  intimately, 
whether  friends  or  foes.  Messrs.  Burt,  Ashemore  and 
other  members  of  Congress,  mIio  served  with  him  for 
many  years,  assure  me  that  no  such  thing  was  ever  sus- 
pected whilst  he  was  in  Congress.  Cokjnel  Williams,  of 
Greenville,  Tennessee,  who  has  known  President  Johnson 
all  his  life,  and  resided  M'ith  him  in  the  same  village,  and 
between  wliom  there  is  a  bitter  feud,  told  me  not  long 
since,  that  no  one  ever  saw  Johnson  drunk,  or  suspected 
him  of  drinking  to  excess.  In  all  my  visits  to  the  Presi- 
dent, in  the  day  time  and  at  night,  I  am  sure  he  was 
never  under  the  influence  of  spirits  or  wine,  in  the 
slitrhtest  decree.  AMien  inauy-urated  as  Vice-President, 
he  A\as  in  feeble  health,  and  just  before  makmg  his  speech, 
he  was  advised  to  take  a  glass  of  brandy.  Not  being  ac- 
customed to  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  it  did  affect 
him,  and  the  effect  was  notical.  This  first  gave  rise  to 
the  slander. 

Colonel  Williams  told  me  that  President  Johnson, 
throughout  life,  had  been  a  very  industrious  and  econom- 
icid  man.  He  managed  his  affairs  with  great  prudence, 
and  was  thrifly  whilst  pursuing  his  trade.  He  was  always 
punctual  in  the  payment  of  his  debts,  and  esteemed  a  very 
honest,  correct  and  truthful  man.  This  statement  is  en- 
titled to  more  weight,  as  it  comes,  not  from  a  personal 
friend,  but  from  a  bitter  personal  enemy.  He  married  a 
^liss  McCarthy,  who  lived  in  Greenville,  Tennessee,  and 
whose  father  was  an  Irish  shoemaker,  as  Colonel  AVilliams 


Andrew  Johnson.  39 

informed  me.  In  one  of  his  speeches,  whilst  a  candidate 
for  Governor,  President  Johnson  paid  a  beautiful  and 
touching  compliment  to  his  wife,  which  liad  a  most 
thrilling  effect  on  his  audience.  There  was  a  vast  crowd, 
or  asseml)lage,  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  present.  Colonel 
Henry,  his  opponent,  paid  the  ladies  a  very  handsome 
compliment,  in  his  address  to  the  meeting,  which  w^as 
greatly  admired  by  all  present.  President  Johnson  said 
he  subscribed  most  heartily  to  every  word  of  the  eloquent 
eulogium  which  had  been  pronounced  on  the  ladies. 
*'  There  is  no  one,"  said  he,  "  on  this  green  globe,  more 
indebted  to  woman  than  myself,  or  has  stronger  reasons 
for  loving  and  admiring  the  sex.  In  my  youth,  and  as  I  was 
entering  on  the  busy  scenes  of  life,  poor  and  friendless, 
ignorant  and  obscure,  a  woman  took  me  by  the  hand, 
taught  me  the  rudiments  of  education,  inspired  my  mind 
with  a  love  of  learning,  and  I  owe  to  her  all  that  I  am 
or  ever  expect  to  be ;  and  that  woman  is  my  wife."  The 
eifect  of  this  expression  was  electrical.  The  audience 
seemed  to  forget,  in  this  eloquent  burst  of  a  loving  heart, 
the  magnificent  rhetorical  compliment  which  they  had 
just  heard. 

Whilst  waiting  one  day  to  see  the  President,  in  the 
room  of  his  private  secretary,  Mrs.  Clement  Clay,  of 
Alabama,  came  into  the  room  for  the  same  purpose.  On 
ascertaining  who  she  was,  I  went  up  and  introduced  my- 
self to  her.  The  President  was  engaged,  and  we  had  to 
wait  an  hour  before  seeing  him.  After  telling  me  all 
about  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  her  husband,  Sen- 
ator Clay,  and  the  various  interviews  she  had  had  with 
the  President  and  Mr.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  AVar,  in  re- 
lation to  liis  release,  she  spoke  of  President  Johnson,  his 
appearance,  manners  and  conversation.  She  said  that  one 
day  she  remarked  to  liim  it  was  very  suqirising  they  had 
never  met  in  society  in  Washington  before  the  A\'ar.  She 
had  spent  a  good  portion  of  her  time  for  several  years  in 
Washington,  and  he  had  been  there  for  the  last  twentv 
years,  as  a  member  of  Cono;ress.     President  Johnson  said 


40  Andrew  Johnson. 

to  her,  in  reply,  that  his  early  education  and  habits  had 
unfitted  him  tor  society,  and  that  moreover,  he  was  so 
constantly  engaged  in  attending  to  the  business  of  his 
constituents,  his  duties  in  Congress,  and  trying  to  improve 
his  mind,  by  rca<ling  and  study,  that  he  had  no  time  to 
go  into  society  or  see  com})any,  unless  on  business.  INIrs. 
Clay  further  remarked  to  me  that  she  had  very  closely 
observed  President  Johnson,  and  really  thought  she  could 
see  an  improvement  in  him  every  time  she  met  him.  She 
concurred  with  me  in  saying  that  his  manners  and  con- 
versation would  do  credit  to  any  gentleman  in  Europe  or 
America.  JNIrs.  Clay  is  a  very  highly  accomplished  and 
talented  lady,  and  there  is  none  more  competent  to  judge 
of  manners  and  refinement.  *  *  *  * 

Since  wTiting  the  above,  President  Johnson  has  beeu^ 
as  he  predicted,  impeached  by  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  in  defending  the 
constitution  and  civil  liberty  against  the  aggressions  of 
Congress.  He  w^as  acquitted  by  the  conscientious  votes 
of  seven  honest  Republican  Senators.  On  hearing  of  the 
acquittal  of  the  President,  I  wrote  him  a  congratulatory 
letter,  and  said  :  "  That  it  required  five  righteous  men,  in 
olden  times,  to  save  a  city  from  destruction  by  the  wrath 
of  God,  but  that  two  more  than  this  number  had  saved 
the  American  Republic  from  dishonor  and  infamy." 
When  the  impeachment  of  President  Johnson  was  first 
voted  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  several  persons 
asked  me  my  opinion  as  to  the  result.  I  always  answered 
that  I  should  regard  conviction  as  a  foregone  conclusion, 
but  for  the  extraordinary  luck  which  always  attended 
Andrew  Johnson.  When  his  fortune  seemed  most  des- 
perate, he  was  attended  by  this  good  genius  and  always 
rose  higher  in  fame  and  distinction.  When  the  civil  war 
broke  out,  he  was  very  odious  to  the  South,  and  cordially 
hated  by  the  abolitionists.  But  he  was  elected  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States.  When  inaugurated  as 
Vice-President,  he  was  most  cruelly  slandered  and  tra- 
duced by  his  own  party.     Immediately,  by  the  death  of 


Andrew  Johnson.  41 

Abraham  Lincoln,  he  became  President  of  the  United 
States.  I  thought  it  not  nnlilvely  that  his  impeachment 
and  acquittal  would  cause  the  Democratic  party  to  nomi- 
nate and  elect  liim  President.  But  although  this  ^vas  not 
done,  yet  the  Southern  States  complimented  him  with 
their  votes  in  the  New  York  Convention.  They  were 
determined  to  show  how  highly  they  appreciated  his  noble 
stand  in  defence  of  their  rights,  the  constitution  and  re- 
publican principles. 

During  the  war,  I  met  in  Augusta,  Georgia,  a  distin- 
guished lawyer  from  Nashville,  Tennessee,  who  said  to 
me,  that  he  had  seen  most  of  the  great  men  of  America, 
and  although  he  w^as  bitterly  opposed  to  Andrew  Johnson 
in  politics,  he  believed  him  to  be  the  greatest  man  he  had 
ever  seen.  I  must  confess,  that  from  my  intercourse 
with  the  President,  and  from  reading  liis  speeches  and 
messages,  I  regard  him  altogether  the  most  remarkable 
man  I  have  ever  met.  There  are  many  men  of  more 
genius  and  brilliancy  of  intellect,  but  he  is  surpassed  by 
none  in  wisdom,  ability,  patriotism  and  firmness. 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

Jolui  C.  Calhoun  stood  pre-eminently  above  all  others 
in  South  Carolina  of  my  day  and  time.  In  early  life  I 
had  a  most  exalted  opinion  of  this  distinguished  Caro- 
linian, his  talents,  patriotism  and  purity  of  character. 
This  opinion  ^vas  formed  from  his  general  course  in  pub- 
lic life,  his  speeches  in  Congress  and  his  administration  of 
the  war  department,  under  President  Monroe.  ^Vhilst 
going  to  school  at  Asheville,  N.  C,  in  1822,  I  remember 
writing  an  article  advocating  his  claims  to  the  Presi- 
dency over  those  of  Adams,  Jackson,  Clay  and  Craw- 
ford. In  the  summer  of  1825,  there  was  a  public  dinner 
given  jNIr.  Calhoun  at  Greenville,  S.  C.  I  was  one  of 
the  committee  who  extended  to  him  the  invitation,  and  pre- 
pared the  toasts  drunk,  one  of  which  pointed  to  the 
Presidency  as  the  crowning  reward  of  his  public  life. 
This  was  the  first  time  I  ever  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
Mr.  Calhoun,  and  I  was  then  a  student  of  law  in  Judge 
Earle's  office.  The  speech  he  made  on  that  occasion  was 
a  very  brief  one,  and  the  company  was  not  large.  Gen- 
eral Thompson,  afterwards  Minister  to  Mexico,  presided 
at  the  dinner.  Judge  Earle,  who  was  never  an  admirer 
of  Mr.  Calhoun,  was  not  present,  and  lef^  the  village  in 
order  to  avoid  the  dinner.  He  had  been  a  Crawford 
man,  and  belonged  to  the  political  school  of  Judge  Wil- 
liam Smith,  of  South  Carolina.  In  the  Presidential  can- 
vass of  1824,  Judge  Earle  supported  John  Quincy 
Adams.  He  had  no  very  high  opinion  of  General  Jack- 
son as  a  statesman,  but  was  never  very  decided  in  his 


The  next  time  I  saw  ]\Ir.  Calhoun  was  at  Pendleton 
Court,  and  it  was  the  last  time  I  spoke  to  him  for  many 


John  C.  Calhoun.  43 

years.  During  our  political  excitement,  in  1832,  in 
South  Carolina,  I  became  very  strongly  prejudiced 
against  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  it  was  not  in  my  nature  to 
seek  the  company  of  those  I  did  not  like.  The  total 
abandonment  by  Mr.  Calhoun  of  his  early  national  prin- 
ciples, and  his  zealous  espousal  of  what  he  had  once 
repudiated  as  the  "Virginia  abstraction,"  shook  my  con- 
fidence in  his  wisdom  and  steadfastness  of  purpose  in 
politics.  I  did  not  see  how  a  great  statesman  could  radi- 
cally change  his  political  principles,  and  be  both  wise 
and  sincere. 

In  1845,  I  met  Mr.  Calhoun  at  the  anniversary  of  the 
Pendleton  Agricultural  Society.  I  had  been  invited  by 
the  President  of  the  Society,  Major  George  Seaborn,  to 
deliver  the  anniversary  address  on  that  occasion.  After 
it  was  over  Mr.  Calhoun  came  up  and  complimented  the 
effort  I  had  made  in  the  cause  of  agriculture.  He  was 
then  starting  to  Alabama  to  look  after  his  planting  in- 
terest in  that  State,  and  expressed  his  regret  at  not  being 
able  to  have  me  at  his  house,  near  the  village  of  Pendle- 
ton. ]Mr.  Calhoun  was,  at  that  time,  very  much  inter- 
ested in  farming,  and  he  always  made  good  crops.  He 
paid  great  attention  to  the  preservation  and  improvement 
of  his  lands.  Hill-side  ditching  was  introduced  by  him 
in  this  section  of  the  State;  and  after  completing  this 
labor  on  his  farm,  he  then  turned  his  attention  to  ma- 
nuring his  fields.  He  wisely  remarked  that  it  was  of 
little  value  to  manure  till  the  land  was  prepared  to 
retain  it. 

Nullification  had  passed  over  in  South  Carolina,  and 
was  an  obsolete  idea  with  all  thinking  and  reflecting  men. 
The  asperities  of  ]>arty  had  subsided,  and  I  ceased  to  think 
of  Mr.  Calhoun's  inconsistencies  and  tergiversations  in 
politics.  I  began  once  more  to  admire  his  brilliant  genius 
and  appreciate  his  public  services  in  many  resjiec-ts.  ^Vbout 
a  year  after  I  met  Mr.  Calhoun  in  Washington,  and  had 
the  pleasure  of  hearing  him  address  the  Senate  on  several 
occasions.     I  was  very  much  struck  with  his  earnest  and 


44  John  C.  Calhoun. 

ardent  iiinnncr  in  debate.  He  spoke  with  o^reat  ease  and 
fluency;  his  sentences -wore  tei*se  and  his  eonchisions 
ra])id.  He  seemed  to  reii:;ard  more  the  idea  expi"essed 
than  the  lano:uag;e  in  Avhieh  it  Avas  uttered.  His  style  of 
speakintr  pk'ased  nie  more  than  the  jjrand,  sok'mn  man- 
ner of  Mr.  AN'ebster.  He  had  all  the  feeling  and  fire  of 
the  orator,  Mliich  I  thought  Mr.  Webster  wantal  in  some 
measure. 

1  had  the  pleasure  of  dining  with  Mr.  Calhoun  during 
my  stay  in  Washington,  with  Governor  McDuffie,  Judge 
Butler  and  Mr.  Burt  of  South  Carolina.  At  the  table 
there  Mas  an  amusing  discussion  between  him  and  Judge 
Butler  on  the  location  of  national  capitals.  Mr.  Calhoun 
remarked  that  the  capital  of  a  nation  Avas  always  on  one 
side,  and  never  in  the  centre  of  a  kingdom  or  empii*e. 
Judgp  Butler  controverted  this  assertion,  and  instanced 
Spain  and  Jerusalem.  Mr.  Calhoun  explained  by  stating 
that  Ma(jlrid  was  a  Moorish  city,  and  not  originally  the 
capital  of  Spain.  What  he  said  in  regard  to  Jerusalem 
I  do  not  now  remember  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  state, 
but  Mr.  Calhoun  was  always  well  posted  in  reference  to 
any  theory  which  he  advanced.  If  facts  failed  him,  he 
would,  nevertheless,  support  his  theory  with  the  most  co- 
gent argument  and  reasoning.  I  remember  hearing  Hon. 
Warren  R.  Davis  give  an  account  of  a  discussion  at  a  din- 
ner table  between  Mr.  Calhoun  and  an  English  captain, 
in  reference  to  the  trade  winds.  The  captain  listened 
very  attentively  to  the  theory,  but  said  he  had  often 
crossal  the  equator,  and  his  observations  did  not  sustain 
Mr.  Calhoun's  theory ;  nevertheless,  Mr.  Calhoun's  argu- 
ment satisfied  the  party  that  he  was  correct,  in  opposition 
to  the  positive  experience  and  observation  of  the  English 
captain.  In  other  words,  the  captain's  facts  were  of  less 
w'eight  than  Mr.  Calhoun's  argument. 

After  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  I  traveled  to  the 
Virginia  Springs,  in  company  with  Mr.  Calhoun,  Gov. 
ISIcDuffie  and  INIr.  Burt.  We  were  all  in  the  same  stage 
coach.     Mr.   Calhoun   spoke   of  Clay's   and  Webster's 


John  C.  Calhoun.  45 

raaimer  in  debate.  He  said  when  Webster  was  worsted 
in  argument  he  felt  it,  and  you  saw  that  he  did  feel  it  and 
know  it.  But  Clay  would  neyer  giye  any  such  manifes- 
tations. He  neyer  ackn()^\•ledged  that  he  was  Asorsted  in 
debate,  and  would  neyer  let  you  see  that  he  thought  so. 
IMr.  Calhoun  said  Colonel  Benton  was  the  greatest  of 
humbugs,  and  could  make  more  out  of  nothing  than  any 
other  man  in  the  world.  "  He  ought,"  said  JSIr.  Calhoun, 
"to  haye  gone  about  all  his  life  with  quack  doctors, 
and  written  puffs  for  their  medicines.  Had  he  done  so, 
he  might  have  made  a  fortune."  There  was  no  kind 
feeling  betAveen  Mr.  Calhoun  and  Colonel  Benton. 
Throughout  life  they  were  bitter  personal  enemies.  Mr. 
Calhoun  had  a  bad  opinion  of  the  Colonel,  and  he  recip- 
rocated it  most  cordially. 

AVhen  I  left  the  Springs,  to  return  home  by  the  way 
of  Abington  and  Greenyille,  Tennessee,  Mr.  Calhoun  re- 
cpiested  me  to  write  him  as  to  the  condition  of  the  roads 
and  staging  through  the  mountains.  He  and  INIrs.  Cal- 
houn intended  returning  to  South  Carolina  over  that 
route.  He  M'as  anxious  to  yisit  W}i;he  county,  where  his 
anc^estors  had  liyed  some  time  after  their  removal  fi-om 
Pennsylyania,  and  before  they  finally  settled  in  Abbeville 
District,  South  Carolina.  The  roads  and  staging  I  found 
bad  enough,  and  so  reported  to  Mr.  Calhoun.  On  their 
arrival  in  Greenville,  S.  C,  Mrs.  Calhoun  said  to  me,  as 
soon  as  I  saw  her :  "  Did  you  ever  expect  to  see  me  alive, 
after  passing  over  those  roads  in  Virginia  and  Ten- 
nessee?" 

Whilst  I  was  a  candidate  for  Congress,  in  opposition 
to  Governor  Orr,  I  visited  Mr.  Calhoun  twice  in  my 
electioneering  tours  through  Pickens  District.  I  never 
found  a  kinder  man,  or  one  more  plain  and  unassuming 
in  his  manners,  than  Mr.  Calhoun,  an^-Avhere;  l)ut  I  was 
particularly  struck  with  his  kindness  and  winning  man- 
ners at  his  own  house.  How  true  it  is  that  greatness  is 
never  pretending  or  assmning.  It  is  only  the  "  would-be 
great  man"  who  has  to  assume  and  pretend  to  wliat   he 


46  John  C.  Calhoun. 

has  n(»t.  Tlic  first  visit  I  jiaid  Mr.  Calhoun  we  were 
ah  (lie  the  \vh<tlo  day,  and  from  tou  oVhu-k  till  diimerwa.s 
announced,  I  do  not  think  either  of  us  left  our  seats  for  a 
moment,  nor  was  there  sciu-cely  a  pause  in  conversation. 
He  was  in  fine  spirits,^and  his  conversation  was  truly 
fascinating.  It  was  not  that  of  a  studied  sj)cech  or  lec- 
ture in  which  Mr.  Calhoun  too  often  induli^ed  with  his 
achiiiriug  listeners.  It  Mas  natural  and  simjile,  cordial 
and  cheerful,  amusing  and  instructive,  giving  and  taking, 
calling  in  the  whole  range  of  his  life's  experience,  thought 
and  learning.  He  spoke  of  his  course  in  Congress,  de- 
scribed his  contemporaries,  told  anecdotes  of  Ilandolpli, 
Lowndes,  Jackson,  Polk,  Benton  and  others.  He  did 
not  admire  President  Polk,  and  spoke  of  the  Mexican 
war  as  most  unfortunate.  He  did  not  believe  that  our 
armies  could  capture  the  city  of  Mexico  or  hold  the 
country,  if  we  conquered  it.  He  spoke  in  high  terms  of 
the  officers  of  the  Uuitetl  States  army,  and  said  he  knew 
thirty  of  those  officers  who  were  capable  of  commanding 
the  largest  armies  of  Europe. 

When  the  INIissouri  (piestion  was  on  the  tapis  in  Con- 
gress, Mr.  Calhoun  said  he  suggested  to  ]\Ir.  Lowndes, 
that  Congress  having  authorizal  the  formation  of  a  State 
constitution,  the  people  of  Missouri,  if  not  admitted  into 
the  Union,  Avould  be  a  legal  independent  State  of  the 
Union,  and  beyond  the  control  of  the  United  States.  In 
speaking  of  the  Federal  Union,  he  said  the  love  of  it 
with  the  American  people  was  stronger  than  their  love  of 
liberty.  I  was  greatly  shocked,  as  a  Union  man,  with 
this  idea,  and  did  not  assent  to  it.  I  contended  that  the 
love  of  the  Union  Avitli  the  American  people  was  only  for 
the  purpose  of  maintaining  their  liberty  and  independence. 
But  it  would  seem  from  our  present  political  condition, 
that  INIr.  Calhoun  was  right,  and  I  was  wrong.  A  large 
portion  of  the  Northern  people  seem  willing  to  establish 
a  military  despotism  to  presence  the  Union ;  and  I  was 
extremely  mortified  to  see  that  a  portion  of  the  Southern 


John  C.  Calhoun.  47 

people  are  willing  to  acquiesce  in  this  despotism  to  get 
back  into  the  Union. 

Great  men  are  often  egotists.  Cicero  and  Demosthenes 
were  eminently  so.  Mr.  Calhoun  was  not  without  this 
foible  of  greatness  any  more  than  he  was  of  another  in- 
firmity, which,  it  is  said,  belongs  to  all  great  men — ambi- 
tion. He  liked  very  much  to  talk  of  himself,  and  he 
always  had  the  good  fortune  to  make  the  subject  exceed- 
ingly interesting  and  captivating  to  his  hearers.  IMr. 
Calhoun  was  a  man  of  the  very  highest  mental  energy 
and  activity.  In  this  respect  no  one  surpassed  him.  But 
he  was  unfortunate  in  always  having  the  great  powers  of 
his  mind  concentrated  on  one  subject  at  a  time.  He 
thought  and  reasoned  so  rapidly  and  directly,  and  was  so 
absorbed  by  the  one  subject  for  the  time  being,  that  he 
pm\sued  the  argument  without  considering  how  the  ques- 
tion Mould  aifect  something  else.  This  was  too  much  his 
character  to  be  a  wise  statesman  or  a  safe  counsellor. 
Whilst  the  advocate  of  a  great  system  of  internal  im- 
provements, he  thought  of  nothing  but  the  great  social 
and  commercial  blessings  which  it  would  bestow  upon 
the  country.  He  chd  not  stop  to  consider,  or  turn  to  the 
right  or  left,  to  see  how  such  a  system  would  strengthen 
the  powers  of  the  national  government  and  crush  those 
of  the  States.  When  he  became  the  advocate  of  a  tariff 
for  protection,  he  thought  only  of  building  up  our  na- 
tional independence  and  encom'agiug  American  labor. 
He  did  not  reflect  on  its  sectional  bearing,  or  stop  to  con- 
sider that  one  portion  of  the  United  States  would  not  find 
it  profitable  to  engage  in  manufacturing.  When  he  be- 
came the  champion  of  nullification,  if  not  its  author,  he 
saw  in  it  notliing  more  than  a  remedy  for  getting  rid  of 
the  onerous  exactions  of  the  tariff  system  for  protection, 
Avhich  he  himself  had  formerly  advocated  through  the 
highest  and  most  patriotic  motives.  He  did  not  consider 
whether  or  not  nullification  would  make  our  national 
Union  a  rope  of  sand.  This  did  not  appertain  to  the  one 
idea  which  had  possessed  his  great  mind,  and  which  was 


48  John  C.  Calhoun. 

to  break  <l(Avn  tlic  system  of  protection.  In  pursuing 
one  question  he  lost  sight  of  all  others.  How  many 
thousands  of  such  men  of  smaller  minds  do  Ave  not  meet 
in  ordinary  lite?  They  are  forevei*  Avrong,  and  always 
changing  tlieir  opinions,  because  they  are  always  on  the 
extreme  and  never  right.  Philosophy  teaches  us  that  ex- 
tremes are  always  dangerous,  and  that  the  path  of  wisdom 
and  safety  is  ever  a  middle  course. 

Unfortunately,  Mr.  Calhoun,  throughout  his  brilliant 
career  as  an  American  statesman  Avas  jumping  from  one 
extreme  to  another  in  politics.  From  the  extreme  of  na- 
tional powers  under  the  constitution,  bordering  on  con- 
solidation, to  the  extreme  of  State's  rights,  bordering  on 
the  destruction  of  all  national  poAver.  From  the  extreme 
of  })rotection  to  no  protection,  not  CA'en  incidental,  in  lay- 
ing duties  for  re\"enue.  From  the  extreme  of  internal 
improvements,  to  the  denial  of  any  such  power  on  the 
part  of  the  general  government.  From  the  adA^ocacy  of 
a  iiational  bank,  to  the  denial  of  the  poAver  to  establish 
such  an  institution !  At  one  time  General  Jackson  was, 
in  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  a  great  patriot  and  incor- 
ruptible man ;  then  he  was  a  great  tyrant  and  utterly 
corrupt.  At  one  time,  in  a  letter  to  GoA^ernor  Noble,  he 
urged  the  election  of  President  and  Vice-President  by  the 
people,  then  he  thought,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life, 
nothing  more  ruinous  and  suicidal  in  South  Carolina.  In 
1812,  he  Avas  the  champion  of  the  Avar,  but  on  the  Oregon 
question  his  speech  is  a  most  masterly  vindication  of  the 
peace  policy.  War  Avas  first  the  greatest  blessing  and 
then  the  greatest  curse.  Mr.  Calhoun  A\'as  the  adA^ocate 
of  the  election  of  General  Taylor,  but  very  soon  saAv  that 
lie  Avas  not  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  In  order 
to  break  doAvn  General  Jackson's  administration,  ]\Ir. 
Calhoun  became  a  Whig  and  the  ally  of  Clay  and  Web- 
ster. He  then  abandoned  the  Whig  party,  and  because 
Colonel  Preston  and  General  Thompson  Avould  not  do 
so  likcAvise,  he  droA-e  one  from  the  Senate  and  took  the 


John  0.  Calhoun.  49 

•stuni])  to  criisli  the  other.  It  is,  however,  the  fate  of 
genius  to  be  erratic. 

For  inauv  years  JNIr.  Calhoun  was  ahsohite  in  Soutli 
Carohua,  and  all  who  sought  promotion  in  the  State  had 
to  follow  him  and  s^vear  by  him.  He  thought  for  the 
State  and  crushed  out  all  independence  of  thought  in 
those  below  him.  It  is  said  by  the  liistorian  that  on  the 
death  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  of  England,  that  kingdom 
breathed  more  freely.  I  thought,  atter  the  death  of  Mr. 
Calhoun,  the  people  of  South  Carolina  could  think  more 
independently.  Mr.  Calhoun  seldom  made  (juotatious  in 
his  speeches  or  ^\•ritings.  He  relied  on  no  authority  save 
the  resources  of  his  own  great  mind.  His  style  was  very 
nmch  that  of  the  greatest  and  most  original  thinker  of 
ancient  times,  the  great  Stagyrite.  In  style  there  is  a 
striking  similaritv  betAveen  the  writings  of  Mr.  Calhoun 
and  Aristotle's  "Ethics  "  and  "Politics." 

In  Mr.  Calhoun's  last  moments,  he  said  nothing  about 
religion,  and  I  mentioned  the  fact  to  Governor  Orj',  who 
was  with  him  when  he  died  in  \\  ashington.  The  Gov- 
ernor said  that  Mr.  C^ilhoun  had  no  idea  of  dying,  and 
had  not  even  given "  uj),  at  the  time,  the  hope  of  being- 
President  of  the  United  States.  The  Governor  told  me 
that  Mr.  Calhoun  was  a  Unitarian  in  religion. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  greatly  admired  and  loved  by  all  of 
his  neighl)ors  al)oui  Pendleton.  They  knew  him  best  in 
])rivate  life,  and  their  good  o])ini(jn  is  worth  a  good  deal. 
His  truth,  sincerity,  and  sterling  integrity  were  never 
doubted  by  those  who  knew  him  best  and  loved  him 
most.  In  public  life,  no  matter  what  may  have  been  his 
errors  and  inconsistencies,  no  one  ever  charged  him  with 
corruption  or  intrigue,  or  dishonor  in  the  charge  of  his 
]Miblic  duties.  IVrhaps  then'  is  no  American  statesman 
whose  private  life  and  moral  character  are  more  unex- 
ceptionable than  that  of  John  C.  Calhoun's.  He  was  a 
statesman  of  whom  South  Carolina  may  well  be  proud, 
and  whos(5  genius  would  have  ))laced  him  in  the  front 
rank  of  irreat  men  in  anv  atic  or  countrv. 


HENRY  CLAY. 


It  has  been  suggested  to  me  by  the  Hou.  layman  C. 
Draper,  Secretary  of  the  Historical  Society  of  AA' isconsiii, 
that  I  ought  to  write  a  sketcli  of  Henry  Clay,  to  accom- 
pany tliose  I  have  written  of  his  great  contemporaries  in 
the  United  States  Senate,  AYebster,  C'alhonn,  Benton, 
Crittenden  and  Hayne.  In  accordance  with  this  sugges- 
tion and  wish  of  Mr.  Draper,  I  have  concluded  to  give 
a  brief  sketch  of  the  life  and  character  of  the  great  orator 
of  the  West,  although  I  never  had  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing him  in  private  or  public  life. 

It  has  been  truthfully  said  of  Mr.  C'lay,  that  "  he  A\as 
destined  for  a  leader,  and  everywhere  he  asserted  his 
destiny."  "He  came  in  contact,  during  his  long,  event- 
ful life  with  men  of  all  ranks  and  professions;  but  he 
never  felt  that  he  was  in  the  presence  of  a  man  superior 
to  himself"  In  the  assembling  of  the  people,  at  the 
Bar,  in  tlie  Senate,  even-^vhere  within  the  circle  of  his 
personal  presence,  he  assumed  and  maintained  a  jjositiou 
of  pre-eminence.  When  told  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  in  debate, 
on  the  compromise  of  the  Tariff,  that  he  was  his  master 
iu  arranging  the  terms,  with  a  burst  of  scorntul  passion, 
he  replied ;  "  You  my  master  !  I  would  not  oavu  you  as 
my  slave !"  It  was  this  audacity  and  self-reliance,  Mith 
his  high  intellectual  and  moral  qualities,  that  made  him  a 
great  man  and  a  leader  of  men  wherever  he  was  thrown 
by  fortune.  It  is  said  that  Napoleon,  at  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  three  consuls  just  appointed  by  the  Revolu- 
tionary Government  of  France,  very  cooly  seated  himself 
as  chairman  without  asking  the  consent  of  his  associates. 
Much   is  owing  to  audacious  assumption  for  success  in 


Henry  Clay.  '  51 

life.  Some  nieu  are  naturally  assuming  and  imperious, 
whilst  others  of  equal  talents  are  timid  and  yielding. 
King  George  the  Third  of  Great  Britain  complained  of 
his  Lord  Chancellor  Erskine's  assumption  in  his  presence, 
and  said  that  he  approached  his  majesty  with  an  air  and 
bearing  as  imperious  as  Napoleon  could  have  assumed 
after  the  battle  of  Austerlitz! 

But  notwithstanding  all  of  Mr.  Clay's  imperiousness 
and  domineering  disposition,  he  had  the  faculty  of  at- 
taching men  to  him  and  making  them  his  j^ersonal 
friends,  which  no  other  statesman  ever  had  in  America. 
General  Jackson  had  more  popularity  -vnth  the  masses, 
but  Clay  had  more  personal  friends.  It  ^^•as  hard  for 
any  one  to  resist  his  fascination,  whether  indifferent,  or 
hostile,  when  they  approached  him.  General  Glasscock, 
of  Georgia,  refused  to  be  introduced  to  Mr.  Clay,  because 
he  was  opposed  to  him,  and  hated  him,  and  feared  that 
he  might  be  won  over  as  others  had  been  by  his  mes- 
meric influence !  But  it  was  Mr.  Clay's  misfortune  in 
life  to  find,  on  several  occasions,  that  self-interest  and 
party  success  were  much  stronger  in  the  human  breast 
than  friendship  !  Had  his  friends  stuck  to  him  in  the 
convention  which  nominated  General  Harrison  and 
General  Taylor,  he  would  have  been  t^dce  President  of 
the  United  States.  It  was  once  remarked  by  Mr.  C^Ia\-, 
that  it  always  happened,  when  he  could  have  been  elected 
President,  his  friends  failed  to  nominate  him,  and  when 
he  stood  no  chance  of  election,  they  ne%'er  failed  to  put 
him  in  the  field.     The  remark  was  literally  true. 

As  a  popular  orator,  Mr.  Clay,  perhaps,  had  no  su- 
perior in  the  United  States.  William  Pinkney,  of 
Maryland,  was  altogether  a  more  polished  orator,  had 
more  learning,  greater  ability,  more  grace  and  more 
of  the  rhetoric  of  eloquence.  His  orations  and  flowery 
arguments  would  have  been  preferred  by  the  learned  antl 
highly  educatetl  scholyr  or  judge.  But  there  was  a 
mesmerism  in  the  eloquence  of  Clay  Avhich  led  captive 
his  audience  on  all  occasions.     Mr.  Calhoun,  as  a  loiiical 


52  Hknry  Ci.ay. 

roa-^oiKT,  A\as  o-roatly  his  superior.  His  specelies  \V(ml(l 
convince  tlie  intellect  or  head,  Avhilst  C'lay's  would  con- 
vince tlie  heaii:.  Webster  Avas,  in  the  o})inion  of  very 
many,  a  iireatcr  ])arlianientary  debater  than  either.  His 
reply  to  Hayne  is  proof  conclusive  on  this  subject,  Avliich 
T  have  alwavs  i-euarded  as  the  most  ])ertect  and  complete 
parliamentary  etfoii:  that  I  ever  read,  A\'illiam  Pinkuey's 
great  speech  on  tlie  Missouri  compromise  not  excepted. 

Henry  Clay  was  born  in  Hanover  county,  Virginia, 
in  1777,  April  12th.  His  father  was  a  Baptist  preacher, 
and  died  in  1782,  leaving  a  widow  and  seven  children. 
They  were  very  poor  and  humble  in  life.  Henry  was 
the  fifth  child  and  his  education  was  very  defective.  His 
mother  is  said  to  have  been  a  woman  of  fine  intellect  and 
fervent  piety,  I  have  always  contended  that  there  never 
was  a  great  man  who  had  not  a  great  mother.  She  may 
have  l)een  humble  and  mieducated,  but  possessed  a  great 
mind,  Washington's  mother  was  such,  and  so  was 
Franklin's.  I^ord  Bacon's  mother  was  a  very  extm- 
ordinary  woman  for  her  intellectual  endowments.  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte's  mother  had  not  the  culture  of  Lord 
Bacon's,  but  l)v  nature  she  Mas  no  doubt  equally  in- 
tellectual. The  world  has  never  pei'haps  produced  tAvo 
greater  men  than  Bacon  and  Xapoleon  Bonaparte. 

The  mother  of  Henry  Clay  married  again  ten  years 
afler  the  death  of  her  husband,  and  moved  to  Kentucky. 
Henry  went  into  a  small  retail  store  in  llichmond,  and 
soon  lefl  this  position  for  that  of  Dejinty  Clerk  of  the 
High  C\)in't  of  Chancery,  N^here  he  served  four  years, 
and  then  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
Ilobert  Brooks,  Attorney  General  of  Virgim'a.  During 
his  clerkship,  lie  attracted  the  notice  of  Chancellor 
Wythe,  and  was  em])loyed  by  him  as  amanuensis.  He 
Avrote  a  beantifiil  hand.  Af^er  his  adnn'ssion  to  the  Bar, 
he  moved  to  Kentucky  and  settled  at  Lexington,  He 
said,  many  years  afterwards,  thai;  his  ambition  at  that 
time  was  to  make  five  hundred  dollars  a  year  !  But  he 
soon   got  into  a    \(ny   lucrative  ]iractice,  whicli   his  bi- 


Henry  Clay.  53 

ographer  wiy.^,  "was  no  (l()ul)t  owing'  to  his  winning  ad- 
dress, and  to  the  cliarin  oi"  a  t"ranl<:,  gaUaiit,  cordial 
maimer." 

His  first  eifort  before  a  popular  assembly  iu  Lexing- 
ton, Avhen  he  was  only  t^venty-tw()  years,  had  electrified 
his  audience  to  such  a  degree  that  they  hoisted  him  on 
their  shoulders,  carried  him  to  a  carriage,  and  pulled  the 
carriage  through  the  streets  !  He  Avas  soon  alter  elected 
a  member  of  the  L(\ti;islature,  during  his  absence  from 
the  county.  In  1806  he  was  chosen  United  States 
Senator  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of 
General  Adair.  He  ^vas  not  then  thirty  years  old,  and 
consequently  not  eligible  to  a  scat  in  the  Senate,  according 
to  the  Federal  ( V)nstitution.  How  he  took  his  seat,  and 
the  oath  of  ofiice,  I  have  never  seen  explained.  After 
the  expiration  of  his  Senatorial  term,  which  was  only  for 
a  few  mouths,  he  was  again  elected  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  Kentucky,  and  the  year  after^\  ards  Speaker  of 
the  House.  In  1 809  he  ^vas  again  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  to  fill  a  vacancy  for  two  years.  In  1811, 
he  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Kepresentatives 
of  the  United  States,  and  \\'hen  the  House  was  organized 
he  was  elected  Speaker.  This  was  very  extraordinary, 
for  a  new  member  to  be  elected  to  preside  over  the 
House  as  soon  as  he  took  his  seat  in  tliat  body !  Years 
afterwards,  John  Randol[)h,  in  one  of  his  philippics  on 
Mr.  Clay's  ambition,  said  lie  strided  from  the  door  of  the 
Hall  as  soon  as  he  entered  it,  to  the  Speaker's  chair ! 

Messrs.  Clay,  Calhoun,  Cheves,  Bibb,  Grundy  and 
Lowndes  messed  t(jgether,  and  were  dubbed  "the  AVar 
Mess."  They  were  the  most  zealous  advocates  of  the 
war  of  1812,  and  forced  President  Madison  to  send  his 
war  message  to  the  House.  Judge  Cheves  said  that 
when  his  mess  received  the  intelligence  of  our  fii"st  success 
in  the  war  on-  the  ocean,  they  were  all  so  much  elated 
with  the  news  that  they  got  up,  joined  hands,  and 
danced  over  the  floor !  It  would  have  been  a  s[HH'tacle 
woi-th   witnessing  to  see   such    men   as   Clay,    (^allioun, 


54  Henry  Clay. 

C'lii'ves  aiul  rA)Wiulos  j()inin»>-  in  a  "sta<!;  dance!"  In 
1814  Mr.  Clay  msignccl  the  sj)eaker.sliip  of  the  House, 
and  wjts  apjK)inted  minister  to  treat  for  peace  with  Great 
Britain. 

After  the  war  was  over,  Mr,  Clay  voted  for  the  com- 
pensation bill,  as  it  was  called,  liivino-  the  members  of  Con- 
gress fifteen  lumdred  dollars  com])ensation  for  each  session, 
instead  of  their  per  diem  of  eight  dollars.  This  measure  cre- 
ated almost  as  much  dissatisfaction  with  the  people  as  the 
recent  "salarv  grab  "  or  back  pay  of  members.  The  com- 
])ensati()n  of  a  meml)er  of  Congress  is  now  sev'en  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars  annually !  What  a  change  has 
come  over  the  people  of  the  United  States !  Mr.  Clay 
was  opposed  in  his  district  by  General  Pope  who  had 
lost  one  hand.  An  Irish  barber  in  Lexington,  who  had 
been  a  warm  sui)i)()rter  of  Mr.  Clay  in  all  of  his  previous 
elections,  now  declared  that  he  was  going  to  vote  for 
"  the  man  that  could  put  but  one  hand  into  the  treas- 
ury." An  old  hunter  of  Kentucky  told  Mr.  Clay  that 
he  could  not  vote  for  him  any  longer.  Mr.  Clay  in- 
quired of  him  if  his  rifle  with  which  he  had  hunted  for 
years,  " A\ere  to  snap  once,  whether  he  Avould  throM-  it 
away,  or  j)ick  the  flint  and  try  it  again."  This  Avas  an 
illustration  which  came  home  to  the  old  hunter,  and  his 
cry,  during  the  canvass,  was,  "  Pick  the  flint,  and  try  it 
again." 

I  remember  hearing  Judge  Clieves  say  that  he  knew 
Mr.  Clay  very  intimately,  and  l)oarded  in  the  same 
house  with  him  for  a  considerable  time,  and  never  heard 
him  speak,  in  private  conversation,  disparagingly  of  any 
one.  He  said  he  was  remarkable  in  this  respect.  But 
he  could  say,  and  did  say,  very  bitter  things  of  his  oppo- 
nents in  ])ublic.  Mr.  Poinsett  told  me  that  he  was 
present  at  a  large  dinner  party  in  Washington,  af^er 
Buchanan's  first  appointment  as  INIinister  abroad,  Clay 
and  the  newly  appointed  minister  were  at  the  dinner. 
Mr.  Buchanan  was  then  a  very  devoted  friend  of  Gen- 
eral Jackson   and  the  Democratic  jwu-ty ;  but  formcn-ly 


Henry  Clay.  ^5$^,' 

IukI  bc'louged  to  the  Federal  party.  JVIr.  Clay  h'oiiically 
complimented  Buchauuu  ou  his  appointment,  and  offered 
to  give  him  his  eonrt  dress  which  he  wore  as  minister  in 
1814.  "It  is  a  little  rusty,"  said  he,  "but,  you  know, 
Buchanan,  you  can  twn  the  coat." 

In  consequence  of  Mr.  Clay's  caustic  lauguage  in 
debate,  and  the  severity  of  the  remarks  of  his  opj)onents, 
he  was  dra^vn  into  several  duels  in  the  course  of  his  life. 
The  most  noted  one  ^vas  with  John  Randolph,  of  Roan- 
oke. In  speaking  of  the  coalition  between  Adams  and 
Clay,  he  said  it  was  a  Union  between  the  Puritan  and 
Blackleg  !  This  expression  Mr.  Clay  determined  to  re- 
sent, and  called  the  eccentric  Senator  to  the  field  of 
honor.  Shots  were  exchanged,  and  the  second  time 
Randolph  fired  in  the  air.  Their  seconds  interfered  and 
the  affair  was  adjusted.  On  one  occasion  Mr.  Clay  had 
a  fisticuff  in  court  with  a  brother  lawyer,  and  the  pre- 
siding judge  fined  them  five  dollars  each ! 

I  cannot  undertake,  in  this  sketch,  to  give  Mr.  Clay's 
])ublic  coiu'se  in  Congress,  or  mention  the  varioiLS  can- 
vasses he  had  for  the  Presidency.  In  entering  public  life 
he  was  opposed  to  a  national  bank  and  afler\vards  became 
its  great  advocate.  He  was  ahvays  in  favor  of  general 
emancipation  of  slaveiy  by  the  States.  He  was  the 
great  champion  of  the  Tariffs  and  Internal  Improve- 
ments, He  advocated  the  recognition  of  the  South 
American  republics,  and  that  of  Greece  also.  He  was 
the  great  compromiser  between  the  North  and  the  South 
on  several  occasions,  and  for  which  his  country  o^ved 
liim  the  Presidency.  But  the  poHticians  of  the  United 
States  have  cared  nothing  for  veal's  past  for  talents,  in- 
tegrity or  public  services  in  making  their  nominations  for 
the  Presidency.  Availability  is  the  only  consideration 
^vhich  can  influence  them,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  any 
great  statesman  will  ever  hereafter  be  elected  President 
of  the  United  States. 


WILLIAM  C.  PRESTON. 

There  have  beeu  few  ])ul)li('  nieii  who  possessed  sueh  a 
eombinatiou  of  high  ench  »Aviiients,  noble  qualities  and  rare 
accomplishments  as  Colonel  William  Campbell  Preston. 
He  was  one  of  nature's  noblemen,  in  person,  head  and 
heart.  His  figuro  was  striking  and  commanding.  He 
was  tall  and  well  proportioned  in  his  person.  His  man- 
ners were  liigh-bred  and  courtly.  In  heart  he  was  kind, 
generous  and  aifectionate.  His  character,  in  pul>Iic  and 
private,  was  j)ure  and  spotless.  'His  intellectual  (jualities 
were  brilliant  and  dazzling.  He  was  a  finished  scholar, 
an  accomplished  orator,  and  wise  statesman.  JSIany  of 
his  bursts  of  eloquence,  iu  the  Legislature  of  South  Caro- 
lina, and  iu  the  American  Senate,  and  before  popular 
assemblies,  are  equal  to  those  of  Burke  and  Chatham. 

I  have  heard  C\jlonel  IVeston  before  ]K)])ular  assem- 
blies, at  the  bar  and  in  the  I^egislature,  and  I  never  heard 
him  on  any  occasion  when  he  did  not  let  fall  from  his 
lips  some  of  the  prettiest  expressions  and  most  heart-stir- 
ring words  ever  uttered  by  a  public  speaker.  His  style 
was  always  fervid  and  rhetorical.  His  gestures,  how- 
ever, did  not  strike  me  as  l)eing  graceful  or  studied,  whilst 
I  could  not  divest  myself  of  the  idea  that  his  language 
was  studied,  and  did  not  flow  from  the  inspiration  of  the 
moment.  It  was  too  ornate  to  be  natural,  M'hilst  I 
thought  his  gestures  were  too  awkward  to  be  studied.  It 
might  have  })een  said  of  him  thathcAvas  a  man  of  nature 
and  art.  He  had  the  kindred  blood  of  Patrick  Henry 
coursing  through  his  veins  and  the  kindred  eloquence  of 
this  great  A^irginia  orator  flowing  from  his  lips.  No  one 
could  look  at  him  or  hear  him  s]ieak  a  word  in  company 


Wir-LiAM  C.  Pjikston.  57 

without  being  impressed  wiih  the  idea  that  he  was  a  great 
man  and  an  accomplished  gx-ntlcman.  He  was  a  man  of" 
fine  hterary  taste,  as  \vell  as  great  scholarsliip.  I  never 
saw  a  private  letter  of  C\)lonel  Preston's  that  did  not  con- 
tain some  gem  t)f'  an  expression. 

His  reputation  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  was 
not  surpassed  by  that  of  any  one  of  his  compeers  for 
thrilling  eloquence.  As  a  statesman  he  may  have  had  his 
superiors  in  that  illustrious  liody,  but  as  an  orat(jr  he  at 
least  e(piale<l  any  of  them.  He  was  a  wartn  partisan  in 
politics,  and  a  fierce  Nullifier  in  the  beginning  of  his  po- 
litical career.  But  he  died  a  most  devoted  Union  man. 
He  had  seen  the  folly  of  nullification,  and  was  opposed 
to  secession.  He  began  to  reflect,  in  the  latter  part  oi' 
his  life,  on  the  effects  of  disunion,  and  foresaw  the  dread- 
ful consequences  of  an  attempt  to  break  up  a  great  and 
powerful  government  like  that  of  the  American  Kepublic. 
His  hope  was,  just  before  his  death,  that  liis  own  dear 
Virginia  would,  like  a  great  seventy-four  gun  ship,  tl^ro^v 
herself  across  the  stream  of  disunion  and  stop  the  tide  of 
disaffection  which  was  rolling  on  from  the  South. 

In  2>rivate  life  he  was  most  amiable,  kind-hearted  and 
generous,  attaching  every  one  to  him  who  came  Avithin 
the  sphere  of  his  acquaintance.  As  President  of  the  South 
Carolina  College,  he  won  the  affections  of  all  the  students, 
and  endeared  them  to  him  in  a  remarkable  degree.  When 
he  entered  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  he  ^vas  in  o])- 
position  to  General  Jackson  and  his  administration.  All 
the  South  Carolina  Xullifiers  became  A\  higs,  and  united 
with  Clay  and  Webster  to  break  down  the  administra- 
tion. In  a  few  years  ]Mr.  Calhoun  and  most  of  his  friends 
broke  from  the  great  Whig  party  and  again  joined  the 
Democracy.  Colonel  Preston  and  Gen.  Waddy  Thomj)- 
son  persevered  in  their  error  and  remained  consistent  and 
true  to  their  mistaken  principles.  This  thrcM-  them  in 
ojjposition  to  their  State,  which  was  imder  the  absolute 
control  of  Mr.  Calhoim.  Colonel  Preston  resigned  his 
seat  in  the  Senate,  and  resumed  the  practice   of  his  pro- 


58  WiM-iAM  C.  Pkeston. 

il'ssion.  Ill  liis  ni-oinncnts  on  the  circuit  aird  in  the  Court 
ot'ApjK'als  lie  proved  liiinscH'an  able  looician  as  well  as 
a  brilliant  rhetorician.  No  lawyer  ar^^ued  his  cases  with 
greiiter  ability  or  was  more  successful  in  his  practice. 

Colonel  l^restou  was  born  in  Philadelphia.  His  father 
was  at  that  time  a  mend)er  of  Congress,  and  had  his 
family  there  with  him.  When  fifteen  years  old,  as  he 
told  me  not  long  before  his  death,  he  started  to  Florida 
to  spend  the  winter,  on  account  of  a  pulmonary  affection 
which  threatened  him.  In  passing  through  Greenville 
District,  South  Carolina,  on  his  way  to  Florida,  he  stopped 
at  old  Judge  Edwards',  in  the  upper  part  of  the  dis- 
trict, to  stay  all  night.  Edwards  had  been  a  county 
court  Judge,  and  \\as  then  a  member  of  the  Legislature. 
He  was  starting  to  Columbia  to  attend  the  session  of  the 
TjCgislature,  and  pursuaded  Colonel  Preston  to  go  on  with 
him  and  go  from  there  to  Florida.  When  they  arriv^ed 
at  Columljia,  Colonel  Preston  concluded  to  remain  there 
and  enter  college.  Whilst  in  college  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  Miss  Cbulter,  whom  he  afterwards  married. 
In  this  way  he  became  a  citizen  of  South  Carolina.  How 
seemingly  accidental  is  everything  in  life.  Col.  Preston, 
a  Virginian,  and  ever  proud  of  the  old  Commonwealth, 
was  accidentally  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and,  as  it  were, 
rol)bed  of  his  birthright.  He  became  a  citizen  of  South 
Carolina  by  accidentally  meeting  an  old  man,  and  the 
further  accident  of  falling  in  love  whilst  in  college.  His 
reputation  for  talents  and  eloquence  in  college  was  un- 
ecjualed.  I  have  heard  his  classmates  say  that  he  Mas" 
regarded  as  the  most  brilliant  young  man  who  had  ever 
entered  that  institution.  But  the  highest  honors  of  his 
class  were  awarded  to  Henry  L.  Pinckney,  of  Charleston. 
Soon  after  graduating  he  made  the  tour  of  Euro})e  with 
Hugh  S.  Legare.  AVhilst  abroad  he  became  acquainted 
Avith  Washington  Irving,  and  they  were  ever  afterwards 
fast  friends  throughout  life. 

Colonel  Preston  was,  for  several  years  after  he  resigned 
the  Pi-esideiicy  of  the  South  Carolina  College,  a  member 


William  C.  Preston.  59 

of  tlie  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  eollege.  He  iutroduced 
resolutions  in  that  body  to  eonvert  the  college  iuto  a  uui- 
versity.  I  seconded  his  resolutions,  and  \ye  tried  in  vain 
to  pass  them.  Atlerwards,  at  the  suggestion  of  Colonel 
Preston,  I  introduced  a  Inll  into  the  Legislature  to  ac- 
complish the  same  purpose,  and  Colonel  Preston  exerted 
his  influence  in  favor  of  it.  But  the  change  Avas  not 
made  till  years  afterwards,  when  it  w'as  adopted  on  nn- 
recommendation  as  Provisional  Governor  of  the  kState. 
The  Colonel  submitted  his  views  in  writing  whilst  re- 
siding near  the  Virginia  University,  and  wrote  me  several 
letters  on  the  subject. 

On  another  very  important  subject,  I  received  from 
Colonel  Preston  most  essential  aid,  which  failed  of  success 
till  accomplished  under  the  Provisional  Goverinueut  of 
the  State.  This  "svas  the  election  of  President  and  Vice- 
President  by  the  people.  It  was  a  question  in  which  he 
took  a  deep  interest.  I  remember  his  coming  frequently 
to  my  seat  in  the  Senate  of  South  Carolina  whilst  the 
question  was  under  discussion  in  that  body,  and  posting 
me  with  documents  and  arguments  for  the  debate.  The 
election  had  been  given  to  the  people  of  Presidential 
electors  in  every  State  but  South  Carolina.  The  con- 
servatism of  South  Carolina  was  too  strong  to  make  the 
change  till  after  the  war,  when  ever}i:hing  was  changed 
in  the  State. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Colonel  Preston  was  par- 
alyzed, and  had  to  use  crutches  in  walking  over  the 
house.  In  this  sad  condition  his  young  and  })eautifu] 
wife  watched  over  him  with  a  care,  affection  and  devotion 
which  love  alone  can  prompt.  He  survived  her,  hoA\- 
ever,  several  years,  a  noble  wreck  of  himself.  He  left  no 
descendant.  His  only  daughter,  by  his  first  wife,  died 
before  him,  and  before  her  marriage  ^^'hich  Avas  in  con- 
templation. The  Athenjeum  in  Columbia  was  founded 
by  him,  and  he  gave  to  the  institution  his  entire  library. 
He  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  time  for  several  yeai-s 
before   his   death   in  Virgim'a.      F  met  him  a  short  time 


60  William  C.  Prkston. 

hcf'orc  liis  (lentil  rctiiniinu-  <tn  tlic  railroad  I'roin  Virj>;iiiia. 
JIo  sj)(ike  t>f'thc  j)lcasiiiv  it  liad  }i;Wvn  him  t(t  revisit  the 
people  ain()no;st  whom  he  had  been  brought  u]),  and  once 
more  to  share  their  bountifid  hos])itality.  The  Colonel 
Avasii  verv  reli<2,ioiis  man,  and  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Kpiseopal  Church  Ibr  luauv  vears  jirevious  to  his 
death. 

When  AVx4)ster  visited  Columbia  he  was  the  guest  f)f' 
Colonel  Preston,  who  at  that  time  was  President  of  the 
college.  They  had  been  associated  together  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  as  members  of  the  great  Whig  party. 
A  munber  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  were  invited  to  Col. 
Preston's  that  evening  to  meet  ]\Ir.  A^  ebster.  In  the 
eom'se  of  the  evening  the  students  of  the  college  came  in 
front  of  the  piaz/a  Avith  a  band  of  music,  and  Webster 
Avent  out  to  address  them.  His  speech  M'as  very  brief, 
and  I  thought  hardly  res[)ectful  to  the  young  gentlemen. 
He  manifested  no  feeling  or  interest  in  the  compliment 
paid  him.  The  next  da}'  Mr.  A\  ebster  Avas  invited  to  ad- 
dress the  students  in  the  college  chapel.  The  judges  and 
laA\yers  attending  the  Court  of  A])peals,  and  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  Columbia,  were  all  in  attendance.  Gov. 
Adams  and  mvself,  as  trustees  of  the  college,  Avere  sent  to 
escort  Mr.  AVebster  and  Colonel  Preston  to  the  chapel. 
As  Ave  AA'ere  going  o\'er  to  the  chajiel,  some  one  remarked 
that  Webster  ought  to  manifest  more  feeling  and  cordiality 
toNvards  the  students  than  he  had  done  the  eA'ening  be- 
ft)re.  Colonel  Preston  touched  his  own  breast  and  said, 
" I  am  afraid  he  is  A\anting  in  heart."  The  speech  Avas 
again  a  failure.  I  thought  Colonel  James  Farrow,  the 
student  Avho  addressed  him  on  the  part  of.  the  college, 
made  the  liappier  effort  of  the  tAvo.  During  the  Avholc 
of  Webster's  stay  in  Columbia,  I  heard  him  but  once  at 
all  interested  and  animated  in  conversation  or  speaking, 
and  that  was  at  the  table  of  Dr.  Gibbes.  The  large  din- 
ner party  giA'en  him  by  Governor  Johnson,  as  Go\'ernor 
of  the  State,  AA'^as  a  very  dull  affair.  He  seemed  deter- 
mined not  to  b(>  roused  u])  in   conversation   or  speaking. 


WiM.iAM  C  Preston.  61 

But  he  had  been  in  C'harle.ston  the  week  before,  Avhere  he 
had  been  feasted  till  he  Avas  broken  down.  His  conver- 
sation, however,  at  Dr.  Gibbes's  was  charming  and 
brilliant. 

For  several  years  in  the  latter  ])art  of  his  life,  Colonel 
Preston  spent  a  j^ortion  of  the  summer  at  Gen.  Thomj)- 
son's,  in  Greenville,  where  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  him,  and 
received  from  him  much  valuable  instruction.  He  was 
indeed  a  most  cordial,  warm-hearted  and  genial  man. 
His  friends  were  strongly  attached  to  him,  and  few  public 
men  in  South  Carolina  had  more  warm,  personal  friends 
till  his  severance  from  Mr.  Calhoun  in  politics,  (xreat 
men  will  have  their  differences,  and  will,  occasionally, 
display  their  little  jealousies  and  ill  feelings  like  humbler 
mortals.  I  heard  Colonel  Preston  remark,  at  his  own 
table,  soon  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  that  it  was 
the  interposition  of  Providence  for  the  good  of  the  country 
in  taking  off  INIr.  Calhoun  at  that  time.  He  thought 
South  Carolina  would  then  have  peace  and  quiet  once 
more.  But  in  this  he  was  greatly  mistaken,  as  the  result 
showed.  Had  Mr.  Calhoun  been  living  at  the  com- 
mencement of  our  sectional  Avar,  he  might  have  opposal 
it  and  stayed  the  attemjrted  revolution. 

Whilst  in  the  Senate  together,  Colonel  Preston  thought 
Mr.  Calhoun  seemed  to  think  that  he  ought  in  all  mat- 
ters to  follow  implicitly  in  his  lead.  This  entire  surrender 
of  his  judgment  to  that  of  another  was  what  Colonel 
Preston  conld  not  tolerate,  and  his  ]iroud  spirit  rebelled 
against  all  dictation.  I  once  heard  Judge  AVithers  sav 
that  Governor  Miller  uiade  the  same  complaint  of  Mr. 
Calhoun  whilst  he  was  his  colleague  in  the  Senate,  and 
that  this  compelled  him  to  withdraw  from  the  Senate. 
Governor  Hanmiond  once  made  a  remark,  that  he  had 
much  rather  be  Calhoun's  successor  than  his  colleague  in 
the  United  States  Senat(\ 

Colonel  Prestcm  was  most  amiable,  courteous  aud 
always  ])eaceably  iudincd,  aud  yet  he  had  a  great  manv 
personal  dilfieuUies  aud  several  fights  in  the  course  of  his 


62  William  C.  Prkston. 

lif'o.  TluTc  was  a  vcrv  annisino;  one  hotweon  liini  and 
Colonel  James  O'Hanlon,  in  which  they  were  both  very 
badly  used  up.  Colonel  O'Hanlon  had  written  some 
political  squil)  asjjainst  him  in  the  days  of  nullification, 
and  tlie  C(»l(»nel  (Ictenuincd  to  resent  it  at  once  and  chas- 
tise O'Hanlon's  insolence.  Xo  one  was  jiresent  to  witness 
the  trial  of"  their  manhood,  but  both  carried  off  serious 
marks  of  the  rencontre.  In  one  of  his  public  speeches, 
Colonel  Preston  mentioned  the  Cunnintrhams  and  Mc- 
Clurghs  as  tories  of  the  Revolution,  which  drew  from 
Captain  Robert  Cunninu:hani  a  challenge.  They  met  in 
Augusta  to  fight,  but  fi-icnds  interp()sed  aiul  the  difBculty 
was  amicably  adjusted.  The  Colouel  was  very  often 
witty  and  severe  in  his  remarks  without  seeming  to  be 
conscious  of  it.  In  repartee  he  was  always  very  happ}-. 
On  one  occasion  there  was  some  jesting  between  him  and 
General  Winfield  8cott,  as  to  their  respective  ages.  The 
(xeneral  contended  that  the  Colonel  Avas  about  his  own 
age.  Preston  replied,  "General  Scott,  Avhen  I  Avas  a 
school-boy,  I  rememl)er  thinking  that  you  were  one  of 
those  men  that  Plutarch  had  Avritten  about."  This,  no 
doubt,  gratified  the  vanity  of  General  Scott,  and  made 
him  Aviliing  to  acknowledge  his  superior  age. 

It  is  said  of  Edmund  Burke  that  many  of  his  most 
brilliant  speeches  in  the  British  Parliament,  Avhich  were 
read  over  and  over  again  Mith  pleasure  and  admiration 
after  they  were  printed,  Avere  not  at  all  appreciate<l  'by  his 
audience  Avhen  he  deli\'ered  them.  The  reverse  of  this 
was  the  case  with  Colonel  Preston.  No  one  ever  grcAV 
tired  of  listening  to  him  whilst  he  was  speaking,  but  his 
speeches,  when  read,  did  not  thrill  the  heart  as  they  did 
Avhen  he  spoke  them.  The  same  was  certainly  true  Avith 
his  great  kinsman,  Patrick  Henry.  The  speeches  pre- 
served of  this  wonderful  orator  gi\'e  us  a  very  fiiint  idea 
of  his  elo(juen('c.  The  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to  the 
speeches  of  Colonel  Preston.  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  speaking 
of  an  early  effort  of  l^itrick  Henry's,  AA'hich  he  heard, 
said  that  he  could  not  remember  Avhat  Avas  spoken  so 
^v•ell  as  the  tlmlliug  effect  Avhich  it  had  on  him. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

I  went  Avith  General  Tlionipsou,  one  Snudav  evening, 
to  call  on  INIr.  Webster,  in  the  City  of  Washington.  It 
was  in  the  summer  of  1846,  and  the  great  defender  of 
the  Constitution  had  said  to  the  General  that  he  would 
be  glad  to  see  ns  at  any  time.  He  was  then  a  Senator, 
and  resided  in  a  plain,  neat  house,  with  his  family.  This 
Avas  my  first  introduction  to  him,  and  the  first  time  I  had 
ever  had  the  honor  of  seeing  him.  He  was  seated  in  his 
piazza,  ^ith  his  coat  off,  and  his  solid,  bulky  figure,  not 
very  graceful,  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  reminded  me  of  some 
substantial  old  farmer,  who  had  shaved,  and  was  clean 
dressed  on  Sunday,  A\aiting  for  Monday  morning,  to  go 
to  plowing  again.  He  immediately  ordered  refreshments, 
took  a  drink  of  brandy  and  water  himself,  and  put  on 
his  coat.  Then  he  commenced  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
conversations  I  had  ever  listened  to.  It  Avas  a  sort  of 
lecture  on  the  history  and  progress  of  the  United  States. 
General  Thompson,  avIio  is  himself  a  great  talker,  and  a 
A'ery  bad  listener,  AA'^as  so  much  interested  in  the  discoiu'se, 
that  he  did  not  attempt  to  interrupt  it  or  put  in  a   Avord. 

Mr.  Webster  stated  that  Talleyrand,  after  his  return  to 
Fi'ance  from  the  United  States,  AA'as  asked  about  the  Avar- 
likc  spirit  of  the  Americans.  He  replied  that  they  had  a 
great  deal  of  it,  but  gaA^e  vent  to  it  only  in  making  Avar 
against  their  A'ast  forests,  cutting  doAvn  the  timber,  kill- 
ing the  Avild  beasts,  and  cultivating  the  soil,  then  march- 
ing on  some  Avilder  and  remoter  region,  to  conquer  that 
in  the  same  way.  j\[r.  Webster  said  there  ncA'cr  Avas  a 
jK'ople  more  restless  and  colonizing  than  the  peo])le  of  the 
lTiu"ted  States.      He  expected  alter  tliey  had  got  through 


n4  Daniki,  "Wkbstek. 

with  ('alif<)rni;i  and  ()n'<i;()n,  they  would  como  round  ;uid 
colonize  old  Plymouth  ntiain. 

I  had  the  ])leasnr<'  of  hearini;'  Mr.  AVebster  ^speak,  on 
several  cK-easions,  in  the  Senate.  On  one  ocea.<if)n  Mr. 
Calhoun  eouijratulated  me  on  hearinfr  him  "in  one  ot'liis 
urandest  moods."  His  style  ofs])eakinii'  was  solemn  and 
impressive.  ]5ut  it  did  not  stir  up  the  l)lood  and  exeite 
the  feelinirs  like  speeches  J  Iiave  heard  from  others  of  less 
fame.  ]\Ir.  Calhoun's  manner  of  speakiuij  Avas  much 
more  ardent,  earnest  and  ini]ietuous. 

AN'lien  introduced  to  ^Ir.  N^^'bster,  he  said  that  he  had 
heard  of  me  before.  I  replietl  that  1  had  once  had  the 
pleasure  oi"  a  correspondence  with  him.  JTe  did  not 
seem  to  recall  it,  and  I  said  nothiuii'  more  on  the  subject. 
During  our  nullification  excitement,  lie  sent  me  a  copy  of 
his  sjieech,  in  reply  to  jNIr.  Calhoun,  on  the  rights  of  the 
States,  and  the  ])oMers  of  the  (jreneral  Government. 
Thereupon  I  wrot(^  him  a  lettei',  and  in  return  he  Avrote 
me  at  some  length  on  the  condition  of  the  country. 
This  letter  I  saw  })ublish(Hl  in  an  edition  of  his  works 
after  his  death.  But  L  hope  tiie  reader  will  not  attribute 
to  me  a  letter  A\ritten  by  a  Colonel  Perry,  of  Camden, 
S.  C,  importuning  ]\Ir.  Webster  for  an  office. 

Several  years  after  this  I  met  Mr.  AVebster  in  Co- 
lumbia, S.  ('.,  and  was  in  his  company  for  several  days. 
The  night  he  arrived  there,  and  became  the  guest  of 
Colonel  William  C.  Preston,  I  was  invited,  with  several 
others,  to  spend  the  evening  with  him.  Mrs.  Wel)ster 
Avas  with  him,  Avho  seemed  like  Saul,  head  and  shoulders 
taller  than  any  other  lady  in  the  room.  In  my  reminis- 
cences of  Colon<'l  l^reston  I  have  mentioned  the  address 
of  ]Mr.  A\'ebster  to  the  students  of  the  college  the  evening 
of  his  arrival,  and  his  s]>eech  the  next  day,  which  were 
very  brief,  and  disap])ointed  ])ublic  expectation  greatly, 
as  he  was  worn  out  by  the  entertainments  given  him  in 
Charleston  the  week  before.  I  thought,  too,  that  Mr. 
AVebster  ap|)eared  like  a  great  seventy-fom-  gun  shi]), 
which  re<|m"re<I  deeper   water,  larger  space,  and  stronger 


Daniel  Webster.  65 

wind  to  he  set  in  inotioD.  He  required  a  great  occasion 
to  bring  forth  his  great  powers.  He  appeared  sullen  aud 
dull,  as  I  have  said,  at  the  great  State  dinner  given  him 
by  Governor  Johnson,  Several  efforts  were  made  to 
call  him  out,  but  he  Avould  neither  speak  nor  converse. 
The  next  day,  however,  at  a  private  dinner  given  him 
by  Dr.  Gibbs,  where  there  were  fifteen  or  t^venty  gentle- 
men invited  to  meet  him,  he  seemed  to  rouse  up  and 
throw  off  his  letliargy.  He  talked  magnificently,  spoke 
of  his  Congressional  life,  and  his  visit  to  England.  He 
told  anecdotes  of  John  Randolph,  and  others  in  Congress. 
Those  of  Randolph  were  not  much  to  his  credit.  Web- 
ster was  prejudiced  against  him,  and  there  had  been  an 
old  feud  between  them.  I  think  on  some  occasion 
Randolph  challenged  him,  which  he  declined  to  accept. 
Ever  afterwards  Randolph  affected  to  have  great  con- 
tempt for  him.  On  one  occasion,  while  their  relations 
were  friendly,  Webster  called  Randolph's  attention  to  a 
fact  which  he  had  found  recorded  in  the  journals  of  Con- 
gress, and  which  he  Avas  going  to  use  in  a  speech.  In 
the  course  of  the  debate  Randolph  got  the  floor  first,  and 
appropriated  the  fact,  sent  for  the  book,  and  called  the 
attention  of  members  to  it,  without  any  allusion  to  his 
having  derived  the  information  from  Webster.  He  spoke 
of  Randolph  in  England,  and  his  eccentricities  there. 
Webster  visited  England  shortly  after  Randolph,  and 
heard  many  odd  things  of  him. 

Whilst  Mr.  Webster  was  in  Columbia  lie  visited  the 
plantations  of  Colonel  Wade  Hampton,  and  others,  who 
had  their  negroes  all  dressed  clean  and  prepared  to  re- 
ceive him  in  the  cotton  fields  where  they  Averc  at  work. 
He  conversed  with  them  about  their  tasks,  visited  their 
cabins,  and  examined  into  their  mode  of  living  and  treat- 
ment. I  saw  him  in  the  evening,  after  his  return,  and 
he  spoke  most  favoralily  of  the  institution  of  slavery. 
He  said  at  Dr.  Gibbs's  table,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
party  dining  there,  that  "no  change  could  temade  which 
would  l)cnefit  the  slave,"     These   were  his  very  words, 


66  Daniel  Webster. 

and  I  have  no  (l«»ul)t  he  was  .sincere  at  the  time  in  ex- 
pressing them.  The  abolition  of  .shivery  since  has  proved 
the  trntli  of  his  remark.  The  Southern  slaves,  with  fe>v 
exce})tions,  have  nt)t  been  benefited  by  freedom.  This  is 
shoAvn  by  the  great  mortality  amongst  them  eyerywhere, 
since  they  ^yere  set  free,  and  bv  the  fiirther  fact  that 
.scarcely  any  of  them  have  ac(juii'ed  any  jn'operty  or  live 
as  ^vell  as  they  did  in  slavery.  1'heir  idleness  and  im- 
providence ^vill  ever  kec])  them  in   Avant  and  panperism. 

General  Thompson  tells  a  good  joke  of  A\'^ebster's  pro- 
fessing sympathy  with  the  Sonth.  He  said  it  Avas  very 
strange  that  the  Southern  people  A\'ere  prejudiced  against 
him  for  he  was  very  much  of  a  Southern  man  in  his 
habits,  taste  and  character.  He  was  fond  of  society  and 
his  friends,  loved  good  dinners  and  good  wines,  cared 
very  little  for  money,  always  spent  it  freely  and  Ayas 
generally  in  debt.  Whilst  Webster  Avas  a  member  of 
General  Harrison's  cabinet,  it  was  remarked  by  General 
Thompson,  at  a  dinner  party  given  by  Judge  Earle,  that 
AVebster  viewed  some  question  Avhich  I  do  not  now  re- 
member, as  a  jjatriot.  Mr.  Poinsett  replied  tliat  tliat 
was  a  view  which  Mr.  Webster  never  took  of  any  ques- 
tion. He  viewed  every  thing  as  an  advocate  and  never 
as  a  patriot.  On  the  subject  of  the  tariff  he  changed 
with  the  changed  interest  t)f  Massachusetts.  Whilst  he 
represented  the  commercial  intere.st  of  Boston  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  he  was  a  free  trade  man,  and 
made  one  of  the  ablest  arguments  against  the  tariff  ever 
delivered  in  that  body.  AVheii  he  became  a  member  of 
the  United  States  Senate  and  was  representing  the  manu- 
facturing interests  of  Massachu.setts,  he  made  equally  as 
powerful  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  tariff  and  protec- 
tive .system. 

In  appearance,  Mr.  Webster  was  a  very  remarkable 
man.  His  head  was  very  large  and  his  face  full.  His 
eyes  were  the  largest  I  ever  saw  in  any  human  head. 
His  complexion  was  dark,  and  his  hair  jet  black.  He 
was  a  stout  man,  with  a  massive  figure,  above  the  ordi- 


Daniel  Webster.  B7 

iiarv  lieight.  He  used  to  say  tluit  his  brother,  who  died 
young,  and  fell  daid  in  t^ourt,  Avas  the  finest  figure  of"  a 
man  he  had  ever  seen.  Judge  Martin,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, in  describing  Webster's  personal  appearance  to  me 
whilst  he  was  a  member  of  Congress,  said  he  always  re- 
minded him  of  one  of  the  French  revolutionists.  It  is  a 
great  mistake  to  suppose  Webster  had  a  bad  heart. 
Colonel  Preston's  remark  that  he  was  w^anting  in  heart,  was 
nearer  the  truth.  His  moral  qualities,  I  have  thought, 
were  very  much  those  of  Lord  Bacon.  It  is  very  strange 
that  a  man  of  great  intellectual  endowments  and  high 
cultivation  should  ever  be  a  bad  man  or  a  mean  man. 
Such  a  man  ought  to  have  wisdom  and  sagacity  enough 
to  know  that  it  was  better  for  him  to  be  honorable  and 
good  in  all  his  actions  through  life. 


X 


ROBERT  Y.  HAYNE. 

I  first  saw  Governor  Hayno  in  the  fall  of  1825.  He 
and  his  colleague,  John  Gail  Hard,  then  President  pro 
tern,,  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  arrived  in  Green- 
ville the  same  evening.  General  Hayne  stopped  at  Grit- 
tenden's  hotel,  where  I  was  boarding  as  a  law  student. 
He  remained  with  us  tMO  or  three  days  and  I  was 
charmetl  with  him.  His  cheerful  cordial  manners  and 
his  great  conversational  powers  won  my  heart  completely. 
His  appearance  at  that  time  was  very  youthful.  As  he 
grew  older,  I  thought  he  imjiroved  in  looks  very  much. 
He  grew  stout  and  had  a  more  manly  appearance.  He 
had  then  been  several  years  in  the  United  States  Senate; 
had  previously  filled  the  office  of  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  in  South  Carolina,  and  that  of  Attor- 
ney-General of  the  State. 

Governor  Hayne  was  full  of  anecdotes  about  the  mem- 
Ijers  of  Congress,  and  the  passing  scenes  at  Washington. 
He  said  that  whilst  Senator  Macon,  of  North  Carolina, 
was  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress, 
there  was  a  new  member  from  Georgia  Avho  had  prepared 
a  speech  on  the  question  before  the  House,  but  the  vote 
was  taken  suddenly,  and  he  did  not  have  the  opportunity 
of  delivering  it.  He  went  to  the  Speaker  and  expressed 
his  regret;  told  him  that  it  Avas  expected  by  his  constitu- 
ency he  would  make  a  speech  on  the  question,  and  that 
his  neglect  to  do  so,  Avould  insure  his  defeat  in  the  com- 
ing election.  "Never  mind,"  said  Macon,  "sometime 
when  the  House  is  at  leisure,  I  will  give  you  the  floor, 
and  you  can  make  your  speech."  Several  days  after- 
Avards,  he  beckoned  the  member  from  Georgia,  and  in- 


l; 


->/^: 
^ 

"^^., 


ROBT.    Y.   HAYNE. 


Robert  Y.  Hayne.  69 

([uired  if  he  was  ready  to  make  his  speech.  "Yes,  sir;" 
said  the  member,  "  I  have  got  the  manuscript  in  my 
pocket."  "  Very  well,"  replied  the  Speaker,  ''  the  House 
is  now  at  leisure,  and  I  will  give  you  the  floor."  The 
speech  was  made  to  the  astonishment  of  every  one,  and 
published  in  due  time.  On  another  occasion,  whilst 
Macon  was  presiding  over  the  deliberations  of  the  House, 
a  member  commenced  speaking  against  time;  told  about 
the  creation  of  the  world ;  the  ejection  of  our  first  parents 
from  the  Garden  of  Eden ;  the  building  of  the  tower  of 
Babel ;  the  captivity  of  the  children  of  Israel,  their  march- 
ing through  the  Red  Sea,  etc.,  etc.  He  continued  to 
speak  in  this  style  for  some  length  of  time,  without 
alluding  to  the  question  before  the  House.  At  length 
he  was  called  to  order,  but  the  Speaker  ruled  that  he  was 
not  then  out  of  order,  for  he  might  yet  apply  all  he  had 
said  to  the  question  under  discussion.  "  If,"  said  he,  "  the 
member  concludes  his  argument  without  making  any  ap- 
plication of  his  facts,  I  will  then  pronounce  him  out  of 
order."  "  Old  Father  Macon,"  said  General  Hayne,  "  as 
he  w^as  usually  called  by  the  Senators,  always  wore  home- 
spun in  the  Senate  till  the  passage  of  the  tariff  for  pro- 
tection of  northern  manufactures.  Immediately  after 
that  he  dressed  himself  in  a  superfine  suit  of  English 
cloth.  It  was  noticed,  and  some  one  asked  the  reason. 
"  I  preferred  wearing  homespun  and  patronizing  domestic 
industry,"  said  Mr.  Macon,  "till  these  northern  gentle- 
men thought  proper  to  try  to  force  me  to  do  so.  I  am 
now  determined  to  show  them  that  they  cannot." 

I  was  a  member  of  the  State  Convention  in  1832,  over 
which  Governor  Hayne  presided,  at  its  second  session, 
having  been  elected  Governor  of  the  State.  He  succeeded 
Governor  Hamilton  as  President  of  the  Convention,  and 
was  imbued  with  all  the  spirit  and  zeal  of  nullification. 
He  told  me  that  when  General  Scott  arrived  in  Charleston 
to  take  command  of  the  United  States  forces  stational 
there  during  the  nullification  excitement,  that  he  called 
on  him  as  the  Governor  of  the  State,  and  invited  him  to 


70  Robert  Y.  Hayne. 

dine  with  liim.  He  told  the  (u'lioral  he  would  hnvo  most 
of  the  loadini!;  nulliiiers  ot'the  city  to  moot  him  at  dinner. 
This  invitation  the  General  declined,  on  the  ground  that 
he  did  not  wish  to  mingle  at  all  with  parties  in  South 
Carolina;  that  he  had  come  there  as  an  officer  of  the 
army  and  was  determined  to  escliew  all  politics.  Gov. 
Hayne  found  that  in  a  few  days  afterwards  General 
Scott  had  been  dining  with  Judge  Hugor  and  all  the  lead- 
ing Union  men  of  the  city.  ''After  tliat,"  said  Governor 
Hayne,  "I  had  no  intercourse  with  him." 

Governor  Hayne  once  t(jld  lue  that  he  was  going  to 
wa'ite  the  history  of  nullification,  and  had  collected  all  the 
documents  necessary  fi>r  that  pur})ose.  It  is  to  be  re-, 
gretted  that  he  did  not  carry  out  his  purpose.  It  was  the 
first  "  lost  cause  "  of  the  S(  )uth.  In  the  great  debate  between 
him  and  \Yebster,  in  the  Senate,  on  the  doctrine  of  nulli- 
fication, Webster  gave  the  Governor's  new  States'  rights 
doctrine  a  terrible  trouncing.  Governor  Middleton  told 
me  he  Avas  in  England  on  his  return  from  Russia,  when 
this  debate  reached  there.  He  heard  several  of  the  foreign 
ministers,  and  many  leading  statesmen  of  Great  Britain 
speak  of  Webster's  speech  in  reply  to  Hayne  as  the  hap 
piest  eifort  of  parliamentary  debate  that  they  had  ever 
read. 

Governor  Hayne  was  a  pleasant  speaker,  warm,  ani- 
mated and  eloquent.  He  was  not  a  man  of  groat  learn- 
ing. His  education  had  been  completed  at  the  Charleston 
College.  I  have  heard  General  Thompson  say  that 
"Hayne  was  the  jn-ince  of  common  sense."  It  is  tnie 
that  his  mind  was  practical,  and  he  was  laborious  in  all 
his  investigations.  He  abva}'s  prepared  himself  Avell  be- 
fore he  made  a  speech.  I  have  heard  Chief  Justice  Dunkin 
say  that  he  and  Hayne  were  members  of  a  debating  club 
whilst  reading  law,  and  that  he  ahAays  found  Hayne  well 
prepared  on  his  side  of  the  question.  At  the  bar  he  suc- 
ceeded to  the  heavy  practice  of  Judge  Chevos,  immediately 
after  his  admission,  and  managed  it  with  great  al)ility. 
PTis  career  in  ])olitical  life  was  rapid  and  brilliant.     Few 


Robert  Y.  Hayne.     1       -^V/  >.,  >i;<^ 

public  men  in  South  Carolina  have  risen  so  rapidly,  anfl  .C*?  V^ 
no  one  ever  enjoyed  at  his  death  a  purer  reputiitiou.  He  ' 
was  a  warm  partisan  during  our  political  excitement  in 
1832,  and  yet  he  commanded  the  entire  respect  and 
esteem  of  his  political  opponents.  No  one  doubted  Hayne's 
sincerity,  or  patriotism,  or  honor.  But  his  ardor  and  en- 
thusiasm often  overcame  liis  great  good  sense,  and  led  him 
astray.  His  proclamation  in  reply  to  President  Jackson 
was  a  most  remarkable  document,  and  really  evinced  an 
intellect  dethroned  by  passion.  He  had  been  a  great  friend 
of  General  Jackson's.  He  told  me  that  he  sent  an  agent 
north  whilst  Governor,  to  purchase  arms.  This  agent 
was  playfully  told  by  the  South  Carolina  delegation,  that 
if  he  let  his  mission  be  known,  Jackson  would  order  his 
arrest.  This  alarmed  him  so  nuich  that  he  not  only  kept 
his  mission  a  secret,  but  returned  to  Charleston  without 
making  the  purchase.  Mr.  Holmes  was  afterwards  sent 
on  in  his  stead,  and  he  made  the  purchase  of  arms  wanted. 
There  may  have  been  more  truth  in  this  playful  remark 
than  Governor  Hayne  supposed.  It  is  stated  in  Parton's 
"  Life  of  Jackson,"  that  he  declared,  not  three  weeks  be- 
fore his  death,  that  it  was  his  purpose  to  have  hung  Cal- 
houn on  a  gallows  as  high  as  Haman's,  if  there  had  been 
one  drop  of  blood  spilt  in  Charleston  in  the  cause  of 
nullification. 

In  1838,  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  Governor 
Hayne  on  the  subject  of  the  annexation  of  Texas.  He 
said  this  was  contemplated  by  the  speculators  in  lands, 
when  Texas  was  first  settled  by  emigrants  from  the 
United  States.  A  proposition  was  made  to  him  by  mem- 
l)ers  of  Congress,  to  engage  in  the  purchase  of  lands  in 
Texas  ^\^th  a  view  to  annexation.  He  said  it  was  idle  to 
think  of  annexing  every  country  to  which  our  citizens 
might  emigrate.  They  were  of  such  an  adventurous 
character  that  they  always  would  go  beyond  the  territo- 
rial limits  of  their  countiy,  no  matter  how  far  those  limits 
miijht  l)e  extende<l. 


72  Robert  Y.  Hayne. 

Governor  Haynt'  and  liis  family  were  at  my  liousc  on 
their  way  to  Asheville,  a  week  or  ten  days  before  his 
death.  He  ajipeared  to  be  in  perfect  heahh.  He  was 
then  President  of  the  Charleston  and  Cincinnati  Railroad 
Company,  and  Avas  greatly  distnrbed  at  the  financial  con- 
dition of  the  company.  He  was  going  to  Aslieville  to 
meet  the  stockholders,  and  there  died  of  typhoid  fever. 
Judge  Clieves  returned  to  Greenville  with  Mrs.  Hayne 
and  her  two  sons.  The  Judge  said  to  me  then  that  he 
was  as  dear  and  devoted  a  friend  as  Governor  Ha}'ue  had 
on  earth.  In  the  fall,  after  Governor  Hayne's  death,  I 
went  to  call  on  Mrs.  Hayne  in  Columbia,  and  was  shocked 
at  her  altered  appearance.  Grief  and  distress  at  the  loss 
of  her  noble  husband  had  so  changed  her  features  and 
general  appearance  that  I  scarcely  recognized  her.  She 
said  to  me  she  did  not  care  to  live  except  to  Match  over 
the  education  of  her  sons. 

In  early  life  Governor  Hayne  observed  to  his  sister, 
"my  mother-in-law,"  that  his  friends  thought  him  tal- 
ented, but  that  this  was  a  great  mistake.  He  said  he  had 
application  and  perseverance,  and  if  he  succeeded  in  life 
his  success  would  be  oA\'ing  to  these  qualities.  I  remarked 
to  his  sister,  when  she  told  me  this,  that  application  and 
perseverance  might  be  termed  the  most  successful  talents 
a  man  could  possess. 

Governor  Hayne  was  tAvice  married.  His  first  wife 
was  the  daughter  of  Governor  Charles  Pinckney,  and  his 
second  wife  the  daughter  C^olonel  William  Alston.  His 
second  wife  survived  him  for  many  years,  a  noble  relict 
of  a  noble  husband.  Governor  Hayne  died  in  the  prime 
of  life,  when  the  future  was  all  glorious  before  him.  He 
had  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  where  he  was  loved 
and  admired  by  his  compeers,  and  accepted  the  Governor- 
ship of  South  Carolina,  in  order  to  let  Mr.  Calhoun,  who 
w^as  then  A^ice-President,  take  his  place  in  the  Senate. 
Governor  Hayne's  popularity  was  at  that  time  so  great 
that  he  had  even  been  spoken  of  as  a  candidate  for  the 
Presidency. 


Robert  Y.  Hayne.  73 

Governor  Hayne  was  a  beautiful  writer,  as  well  as  a 
great  and  eloquent  debater.  His  article  in  the  "  Southern 
Quarterly,"  ou  the  execution  of  his  kinsman.  Colonel 
Isaac  Hayne,  during  the  Revolutionary  Avar,  was  a  most 
admirable  article.  The  address  of  the  State  Convention, 
in  1832,  written  by  him,  was  a  State  paper  of  great  ability 
and  eloquence.  His  untimely  death  was  deeply  mourned 
and  lamented. 


GEORGE  Mcduffie. 

I  once  heard  Governor  Orr  tell  Mrs.  AVacle  Hampton, 
the  (lautihter  of  General  INIcDnffie,  that  Colonel  I^enton 
said  to  him  many  years  ago  that  "MeDnffie,  as  an  orator, 
was  eqnal  to  Demosthenes  in  his  prime."  This  was,  cer- 
tainly, a  very  high  compliment,  coming  from  snch  a 
sonrce.  It  may  be  esteemed  extravagant,  and  perha])s  is 
so.  Bnt  there  is  no  one  who  ever  heard  General  IMcDnffie 
on  any  great  occasion,  that  will  not  admit  his  great  and 
transcendent  powers  as  an  orator.  He  could  stir  up  the 
human  heart  and  excite  the  feelings  and  passions  as  few 
public  speakers  have  been  able  to  do  in  ancient  or  modern 
times.  It  is  said  that  the  best  judges  of  eloquence  are  the 
masses,  the  connnon  people,  and  there  is  great  truth  in  the 
remark.  From  Demosthenes  to  the  present  day,  there 
has  never  lived  a  great  orator  Avhose  reputation  was  not 
the  reward  of  the  masses  in  popular  assemblies.  In 
moving  the  ])o})ular  heart,  on  great  occasions,  or  on  great 
questions  of  public  policy,  no  one  Avas  more  successful 
than  George  McDuffie. 

He  was  said  to  have  been  born  in  Georgia,  but  his 
parents  moved  from  Lancaster  District,  South  Carolina, 
the  birthplace  of  General  Andrew  Jackson,  and  there  are 
some  doubts  as  to  where  he  was  born.  I  have  heard 
Mrs.  Robert  Cunningham  say  that  she  went  to  school 
with  George  INIcDuffie  near  her  father's  residence  in 
Georgia,  above  Augusta.  Her  father  was  Colonel  Bird, 
formerly  of  Virginia.  Mrs.  Cunningham  said  McDuflfie's 
name  was  then  pronounced  McAfee  by  liis  associates. 
She  said  his  parents  were  poor  and  lived  near  her  father's. 
At  school  Georjic  would  climb  trees  and  set  birds'  nests 


George  McDuffie.  75 

for  her.  He  was  a  stout  boy,  whilst  she  was  a  very  small 
girl.  Mrs.  Yancey,  the  sister  of  Mrs.  Cuiniiugham,  and 
the  mother  of  William  L.  Yaucey,  of  Alabama,  once  said 
to  me  that  she  had  recently  met  General  iSIcDuffie,  in 
Hambm-g,  S.  C,  and  he  inquired  of  her  if  she  had  lately 
been  at  her  father's  old  residence,  and  expressed  a  wish 
to  visit  the  neighborhood  once  more. 

Not  many  years  before  General  INIcDuffie's  death,  ISIr. 
Armistead  Burt  told  me  that  iVlcDuffie  requested  him  to 
go  with  him  to  the  place  where  he  was  liorn  and  brought 
u]i.  My.  Burt  went  Mith  him,  and  said  that  after  some 
difficulty  they  found  the  vestige  or  debris  of  an  old  chim- 
ney, where  the  hoiLse  had  been.  It  Avas  in  a  most 
secluded,  lonely  place.  There  was  a  tree  standing  near 
by,  and  after  looking  at  it  for  some  time,  he  saw  the  tears 
rolling  down  McDuffie's  cheeks.  Pointing  to  the  tree, 
he  remarked :  "  That  is  the  tree  under  which  I  used  to 
play  knucks." 

General  ]\IcDuffie  entered  the  store  of  James  Calhoun, 
in  Augusta,  when  he  was  a  stout  boy.  jNIr.  Calhoun  was 
the  brother  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  and  he  foiled  in  business 
and  had  to  close  his  store.  AMiilst  ]\IcI)uffie  was  clerk- 
ing for  Mr.  Calhoun,  he  evinced  a  great  disposition  to 
read,  and  his  spare  time  was  always  spent  Avitli  his  books. 
This  attracted  Mr.  Calhoun's  notice,  and  when  his  l)rotlier, 
AVilliam  Calhoun,  came  doAvn  to  Augusta,  after  his  fail- 
ure, he  mentioned  the  circumstance  to  him.  Mr.  AVilHam 
Calhoun  lived  near  the  Rev.  Mr,  Waddle's  famous  school 
at  ^Mllington,  S.  C.  He  proposed  to  take  ISIcDuffie  and 
board  him  whilst  he  was  going  to  the  academy.  In 
1828,  I  was  shown,  by  JNIr.  William  Calhoun,  an  old 
pine  box,  in  which  McDuffie  brought  his  clothes  when 
he  came  there  to  go  to  school.  This  box  had  a  lid  fast- 
ened with  leather  hinges,  and  a  leather  strap  in  front 
fastened  over  a  nail.  Telling  my  friend  Colonel  Richard 
Yeadon,  about  having  seen  this  box,  he  said  it  ought  to 
be  procured  and  deposited  in  the  Charleston  ^Museum. 
Mr.  Calhoun  did  not  know  McDuffie's  age  when  he  fiixt 


76  Georgk  McDurFiE. 

caiiK'  to  his  liouso.  I  lu'iinl  Mr.  lVtti<>;nr  s:iy  that  after 
lie  unuhiated  in  the  Soiitli  Carolina  Colleiic,  he  went  to 
Au<^nsta,  and  fFudoe  Ijonustreet,  then  a  verv  youn^  man, 
gave  him  a  letter  ot"  intrudiietiou  to  his  friend  McDuffie, 
who  Mas  at  that  time  in  Calhoun's  store.  Mr.  Petigru 
said  JSIeDuffic  seemed  then  to  be  about  his  own  age.  He 
rememberetl  that  he  and  ]\lel)uffie  took  a  stroll  over  the 
town  of  Augusta  together. 

ISIeDuffie's  })rogress  in  the  languages,  at  Willington, 
was  very  remarkable,  and  I  think  Mr.  Calhoun  said  he 
prepared  himself  for  the  Junior  elass  in  the  South  Caro- 
lina College  in  the  course  of  twelve  months.  During  his 
college  vacation  he  became  a  private  tutor  in  Mr.  Flood's 
family,  as  I  have  been  informed.  In  this  waj  he  de- 
frayed the  ex})enses  of  his  second  year  in  college.  For 
Mr.  Calhoun's  kindness.  General  INIcDuffie  afterwards 
insisted  on  defraying  the  expenses  of  educating  Mr.  Cal- 
houn's youngest  daughter,  now  Mrs.  Burt,  in  the  Female 
Seminary,  at  Columbia.  He  graduated  with  the  first 
honors  of  his  class. 

General  Thompson  and  others  have  told  me  of  stopping 
at  Mrs.  Vance's  in  Georgia,  who  was  the  sister  of  Gover- 
nor McDuffie,  and  older  than  liimself.  She  was  fond  of  talk- 
ing of  George,  and  said  when  a  boy  he  was  the  kindest  and 
best  tempered  fellow  she  ever  knew,  and  was  surprised  to 
learn  that  he  had  had  several  quarrels  in  Congress,  and  a 
fight  or  two  with  Colonel  Cumming.  There  was  a 
brother  of  Governor  McDuffie's  who  lived  in  Georgia, 
and  I  have  heard  Major  Samuel  To w^nes  speak  of  stopping 
at  his  house  and  purchasing  fodder  for  his  horses,  as  he 
was  passing  through  the  State. 

Soon  after  McDuffie  ^vas  admitted  to  the  bar  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from  Edgefield  Dis- 
trict. He  soon  acquired  in  that  body  a  very  high  repu- 
tation as  a  public  speaker.  Judge  Huger  told  me  that  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  the  same  session.  One 
night  he  returned  to  his  mess,  and  saw  that  CV)lonel  T^ewis 
Keating  Simons  ^vas  very  moody  and  abstracted.     He  in- 


George  MoDuffie.  77 

quired  Avluit  ^vas  the  matter.  In  reply,  Colonel  Simons 
asked  him  if  he  knew  a  young  member  of  the  house  whose 
name  was  MeDuffie?  "Yes,"  said  the  Judge,  "he  is 
quite  a  promising  member  of  the  bar  at  Edgefield.  What 
about  him ? "  "I  never  heard  such  eloquence  flow  from 
the  lips  of  mortal  man,"  said  Colonel  Simons,  "as  I  heard 
from  his,  this  evening,  before  the  judiciary  committee,  on 
giving  the  election  of  electors  of  President  and  Vice- 
President  to  the  people."  Afler  indulging  in  a  good  deal 
of  extravagant  eulogiura  on  the  young  member  from 
Edgefield,  Judge  Huger  said  to  him,  "  Well,  Simons,  you 
must  admit  that  he  is  an  ugly  fellow."  "Ugly!"  ex- 
claimed Simons,  "  if  you  could  have  seen  him  this  even- 
ing A\hilst  speaking,  with  his  features  animated  and  his 
face  lighted  up  by  the  inspiration  of  eloquence,  you  would 
have  thought  him  as  beautiful  as  an  angel."  In  replpng 
to  some  opposition  to  the  South  Carolina  College,  Judge 
Huger  said  to  the  House,  that  if  the  college  had  never 
done  ami:hiug  more  than  educate  IMcDuffie,  it  would  be 
ample  compensation  to  the  State  for  all  her  expenditures 
on  the  institution.  This  compliment  was,  aflerMards, 
frequently  repeated  and  referred  to  in  South  Carolina. 

In  a  few  years  General  INIcDufiie  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress, and  there  he  soon  acquired  a  national  reputation. 
For  several  years  he  stood  prominent  in  that  body  as  a 
debater  and  orator.  He  Avas  then  elected  Governor  of 
South  Carolina,  and  afterwards  Unital  States  Senator. 
He  entered  the  Senate  after  his  health  was  impaired  and 
his  mind  greatly  enfeebled.  In  that  body  he  was  never 
able  to  do  justice  to  his  reputation.  At  the  bar  he  had 
no  rival  and  stood  alone.  He  was,  indeed,  a  great  orator 
and  a  great  man.  His  style  of  speaking  was  Deuiosthe- 
nian,  and  for  invective  and  deminciation  lie  was  the  equal 
of  the  great  Athenian.  In  ])olitics,  however,  he  was  too 
much  under  the  influence  of  his  feelings  and  passions  to 
be  relied  on.  His  honesty  and  sincerity  were  never 
doubted.  He  was  kind  and  simjile  in  his  nature,  cou- 
fidiug  to  a  fault,  and  easily  inqiose<l  upon  by  others. 


78  George  McDuffie, 

'l'liniut:;li(»ut  his  ))ul)]ic  life  lio  was  very  iniicli  uiidcr 
the  iulluenee  ol'  "Sir.  C'allioiiu,  aud  too  often  pennitted 
him  to  control  Jiis  j>uhh('  coui'se.  lu  eiirly  life  lie  was  a 
strong  advocate  of  Federal  powers,  and  thought  no  man 
e(|ual  to  Alexander  Hamilton,  save  Washington  alone. 
His  ])am])lilet,  "One  of  the  Peo[)le/'  a  strong  consolida- 
tion document,  Avas  a  terrible  stumbling-block  in  his  way 
when  he  took  the  other  side  in  politics  and  became  the 
advocate  of  millification.  The  latter  j^art  of  his  life  was 
devoted  to  agriculture  and  making  money.  It  was  said 
he  bwanie  avaricious.  This  Judge  Huger  denied  to  me 
in  strong  terms.  He  said  that  he  and  McDuffie  kept 
house  together  Avhilst  they  were  in  the  Senate,  and 
although  their  expenses  were  heavy,  he  never  saw  the 
slightest  wish  on  the  part  of  McDuffie  to  curtail  them. 
He  said  McDuffie  did  not  care  to  spend  money  in  order 
to  make  a  display,  for  he  scorned  all  such  vanity,  but 
when  necessary  he  ^vas  as  willing  to  spend  his  money  as 
any  one.  Judge  Huger  said  that  he  seemed  to  regard 
money  as  little  as  any  one  he  ever  knew.  Colonel  Wood- 
ward, wIk)  messed  \Aith  him  several  sessions,  spoke  of  his 
manners  and  habits  as  unrefinetl,  but  I  heard  nothing  of 
this  from  Judge  Huger. 

After  General  McDuffie's  return  from  Europe,  he  was 
speaking  to  me  of  the  difterence  in  the  appearance  of  the 
United  States  and  England  and  France.  He  said  we  had 
no  permanent  monuments  of  national  greatness  in  America, 
and  that  if  the  besom  of  destruction  Mere  to  sweep  over 
the  land,  there  could  not  be  found  a  century  afterwards  a 
single  vestige  of  our  greatness  or  civilization  !  In  debate 
General  INlcDuffie  was  often  rude,  overbearing  and  in- 
sulting. This  involved  him  in  many  difficulties.  His 
duels  with  Colonel  William  Gumming  were  owing  to  his 
vituperative  publications,  and  his  difficulties  in  Congress 
originated  in  his  terrific  rej)lies  in  debate. 

Before  his  death  liis  mind  l>ecame  a  melancholy  wreck. 
His  noble  intellect  was  gone !  His  physical  strength  par- 
alyzed.    In  traveling  Avith  him  from  Washington  to  the 


Geokge  McDufeie.  79 

Virginia  Springs,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  we  had  to 
assist  him  in  walking  from  the  coach  to  the  hotel.  He 
was  opposed  to  the  annexation  of  Oregon  to  the  United 
States,  and  thought  the  country  would  be  valueless.  I 
remember  his  differing  M'ith  Mr.  Calhoun  on  this  subject 
as  we  were  traveling  over  the  mountains.  There  was  no 
pretension  about  INIr.  McDufiie  in  anything.  He  was 
very  jilain  in  his  apjiearanee  and  dress,  and  rustic  in  his 
manners.  I  remember  hearing  Mrs.  William  Calhoun 
laughing  about  some  one  coming  there  and  mistaking 
McDufiie  for  their  overseer.  Whilst  at  the  bar  in  early 
life  he  was  sometimes  seen  with  a  hole  in  the  elbow  of 
his  coat.  He  lefl  a  large  fortune  at  his  death.  In 
planting  he  was  very  successful  and  prosperous. 

Whilst  Governor  of  the  State,  he  denounced  in  very 
strong  terms  the  Republic  of  Texas,  and  expressed  but 
little  sympathy  for  those  who  had  voluntarily  abandoned 
their  homes  and  country.  For  this  "cold  blooded  mes- 
sage," as  it  was  termed  by  Colonel  Benton,  McDuffie  was 
severely  rebuked  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  He 
did  not  marry  until  he  had  become  distinguished  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation.  His  wife,  Miss  Singlet  on,  sur- 
vived  her  marriage  only  two  years,  leaving  an  only  child. 
The  Governor  never  married  again. 


WILLIAM  SMITH. 

I  was  prejudiced  in  early  life  against  Judge  Smith,  and 
most  earnestly  ^\^slled  his  defeat  when  Judge  Huger  op- 
])()sed  him  for  the  United  States  Senate.  This  was  before 
I  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  I  was  introduced  to  Judge 
Smitli  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  this  State, 
whilst  the  contest  was  going  on  between  him  and  Gov- 
ernor Miller  for  the  Senate.  I  Avas  at  that  time  editing 
the  Greenville  Mountaineer,  a  Union  paper,  and  had 
espoused  the  cause  of  Judge  Smith  on  accoimt  of  his 
op]>osition  to  nullification.  His  hostility  to  Mr.  Calhoun 
and  his  States'  rights  doctrines,  which  had  formerly  pre- 
judiced me  against  him,  were  now  forgiven  and  joined  in 
by  myself.  Mr.  Calhoun  had  jumped  over  Judge  Smith 
in  the  States'  rights  school,  and  went  far  beyond  what 
the  judge  had  dreamed  of  in  his  opposition  to  national 
powers. 

Judge  Smith  was  a  very  plain,  unpretending  man  in 
his  appearance  and  manners.  He  was  very  bitter  and 
vindictive  in  his  feelings.  I  never  knew  a  man  of  talent 
and  distinction  more  so.  He  hated  Calhoun  with  an  in- 
tensity and  cordiality  seldom  felt  by  any  public  man 
towards  his  opponent.  In  speaking  to  Judge  Huger, 
one  day,  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  Judge  Smith  siiid,  "  Do  you 
know,  sir,  that  Calhoun,  on  my  return  to  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  treated  me  with  so  much  kindness  and 
consideration  that  I  could  not  hate  him  as  I  wished  to 
do."  I  mentioned  this  singular  expression  to  Judge 
Earle,  and  he  remarked  that  he  had  no  doubt  Smith 
hated  Calhoun  the  more  for  not  being  able  to  hate  him  ! 
In  other  words,  not  paradoxical,  he  hated   Calhoun  the 


WlJ.MAM   SflllTII.  81 

more  on  accoiuit  of  his  kindness  and  cordiality,  which 
deprived  him  of  one  canse  for  continnin^  his  liatred. 

Judge  Smith  said  to  Governor  Taylor,  in  my  presence, 
"  You  know,  sir,  that  Calhouu  sold  the  State  twice  to 
advance  his  claims  in  the  Presidency,  once  on  the  tariff, 
and  again  on  internal  improvements."  Judge  Smith 
was  the  wisest  and  most  consistent  statesman  South  Caro- 
lina ever  produced  in  my  day  and  time.  He  early  per- 
ceived the  dangerous  tendency  of  increasing  the  powers 
of  the  Federal  Government  by  a  great  national  bank,  a 
magnificent  system  of  internal  improvements,"  and  a 
tariff  for  the  exclusive  protection  of  Northern  manufac- 
turers. He  saw,  too,  the  sectional  bearing  of  these  meas- 
ures would  be  to  concentrate  power  and  wealth  at  the 
North,  and  weaken  and  impoverish  the  South.  He 
broke  ground  against  these  measures  at  once,  which  were 
advocated  by  Mr.  Calhoun  and  his  friends,  in  South 
Carolina ;  and  was  turned  out  of  the  United  States  Senate 
in  consequence  of  his  opposition  to  Mr.  Calhoun  and  his 
policy.  In  a  few  years  the  evil  consequences  of  this 
great  American  system  on  the  prosperity  of  the  Southern 
States  were  sorely  felt  in  South  Carolina,  and  Judge 
Smith  was  again  restored  to  the  United  States  Senate  by 
the  Legislature.  Then  Mr.  Calhoun  and  his  party  be- 
gan their  scheme  of  nullification  to  break  down  and 
nullify  the  tariff  laws.  Judge  Smith  immediately  saw 
the  dangerous  and  destructive  conse(piences  of  this  doc- 
trine to  all  Federal  powers,  and  opposed  it  like  a  wise 
statesman  and  2iatrif)t,  and  was  again  turned  out  of  the 
Senate.  His  course  was,  all  the  time,  a  middle  one,  the 
course  of  wisdom  and  patriotism.  He  was  then  elected 
to  the  State  Senate  from  York  District,  where  he  con- 
tinued his  opposition  to  nullification  and  his  exertions  in 
defence  of  the  Union.  But  York  District  finally  gave  in 
her  adhesion  to  nullification,  and  he  moved  to  Alabama, 
where  he  was  elected  to  the  I^egislature,  and  aflersvards 
appointed  by  General   Jackson  to  a  seat  on  the  bench  of 


82  Wn-i,iAM  Smith. 

the  ^upronio  CiMirt  of  tlie  Uiiitod  States.  This  higli  and 
most  honoral)lc  position  the  judge  decHned. 

lu  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  Judge  Smith  always 
had  great  consideration  for  liis  wisdom,  integrity  and 
learning.  Soutli  Carolina  may  well  J)e  proud  of  him  as 
a  statesman  and  ])atriot. 

Chancellor  Jol)  Johnston  told  me  once  that  Judge 
Smith,  in  early  life,  had  a  falling  out  witH  one  of  his 
brothers,  and  they  did  not  speak  to  each  other.  After 
his  election  to  the  bench  he  went  to  hold  court  in  one  of 
the  lower  districts,  and  found  this  brother  on  the  jury, 
and  by  the  recommendation  of  the  clerk  he  was  appointed 
foreman,  but  there  was  no  recognition  of  kindred  or 
acquaintance  between  them.  The  whole  court  jiassed 
over  without  their  speaking  to  each  other,  except  officially. 
Chancellor  Johnston  was  a  great  friend  of  Judge  Smith, 
and  took  an  active  part  for  him  in  his  election  to  the 
Senate  Avhen  opposed  by  Judge  Huger,  The  chancellor 
told  me  another  incident  connected  with  Judge  Smith, 
wliich  was  very  remarkable.  In  early  life,  conversing 
with  the  judge  about  Andrew  Jackson,  he  said  :  "I 
knew  General  Jackson  well  as  a  boy  and  a  man,  and  I 
know  him  to  be  a  hollow-hearted  scoundrel !"  ]\Iany 
years  afterwards,  in  the  canvass  between  Judge  Smith 
and  Judge  Huger  for  the  Senate,  a  member  of  the  Ijegis- 
lature  said  to  the  chancellor  that  he  would  vote  for  Judge 
Smith,  jirovided  lie  was  in  favor  of  the  election  of  Gen- 
eral Jackson  to  tlic  Presidency.  This  Chancellor  John- 
ston communicated  to  Judge  Smith,  and  remembering 
what  the  judge  liad  said  in  former  years,  he  said  to  him, 
"You  need  not  answer  the  question  if  it  will  prejudice 
you."  The  judge  replied,  "  Tell  your  Senator  I  would 
sooner  see  General  Jackson  President  than  any  man  in 
America." 

Judge  Withers,  who  was  the  protege  of  Judge  Smith, 
told  me  not  long  before  his  death,  that  he  had  heard  the 
cause  of  Judge  Smith's  bitter  enmity  towards  Mr.  Cal- 
houn  was  owing  to  Mr.  (*alhoun's  preventing  President 


William  Smith.  83 

Monroe  from  appointing  him  to  a  foreign  mission.  Mr. 
Callioini  was  at  that  time  a  member  of  Monroe's  cabinet, 
and  nnderstood  tlie  President  was  going  to  nominate 
Judge  Smitli  as  Minister  to  Russia.  He  interposed  and 
procured  the  appointment  of  Governor  Middleton,  of 
South  Carolina.  Judge  Withers  said,  that  whilst  riding 
with  Judge  Smith,  one  day,  he  alluded  to  the  fact,  and 
an  evasive  answer  was  given  him. 

Judge  Smith  always  kept  his  letters,  and  in  talking  to 
me,  in  the  days  of  nullification,  relative  to  General 
Thompson,  he  said  :  "  I  have  a  rod  in  soak  for  him,  a 
letter  which  he  wrote  me."  What  this  letter  contained 
he  did  not  inform  me.  On  my  introduction  to  Judge 
Smith,  he  spoke  of  his  disappointment  in  ascertaining 
that  the  Pendleton  delegation  would  vote  against  him. 
His  son-m-law.  Colonel  John  Taylor,  lived  at  Pendleton 
till  his  removal  to  Alabama.  His  friend.  General  Earle, 
the  brother-in-law  of  Colonel  Taylor,  was  still  living 
there,  and  then  Adjutant  General  of  the  State.  He 
thought  his  influence  would  have  been  for  him  in  the 
election. 

Judge  Smith  and  myself  boarded  at  the  same  hotel 
whilst  he  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and  I  saw  a 
great  deal  of  him.  He  was  one  of  the  sternest  and  firm- 
est men  I  ever  knew.  He  was  not  a  man  like  Judge 
Huger,  of  warm  friendship,  but  he  surpassed  the  judge  a 
long  way  in  the  bitterness  of  his  enmities.  He  was  said 
to  have  been  a  selfish  man.  I  do  not  know  the  truth  of 
this.  Chancellor  Thompson,  Avho  ])racticed  with  him  at 
the  bar,  used  to  say  he  was  ill-natured  and  cajitious  to  his 
associates.  This  is  very  likely  true.  He  Avas  rude  in 
conversation,  as  well  as  bitter  and  vindictive.  Just  before 
leaving  the  State,  he  was  knocked  down  by  a  gentleman 
for  some  offence  given  in  conversation. 

Whilst  a  member  of  the  Alabama  Legislature,  a  dis- 
cussion sprung  up  as  to  the  pi"o]iriety  of  building  a  peni- 
tentiary. Judge  Smith  had  just  sent  his  cotton  crop  to 
Mobile  and  was  defrauded  by  some  of  the  factors  there. 


84  William  Smith. 

He  stattMl  to  tlic  ITonse  of"  wliicli  lie  was  a  nionibcr,  that 
if  the  Ix'trislatun'  would  build  a  wall  around  the  city  of 
Mobile,  they  would  have  a  penitentiary  at  once  filled 
with  rogues  ! 

Just  as  I  was  concluding  this  brief  and  imperfect 
sketch  of  Judge  Smith,  news  was  brought  to  me  of  the 
capture  of  Fort  Sumter  !  Fraternal  blood  has  been  shed 
in  civil  strife,  and  the  ])<)wer  and  glory  of  this  great 
American  Republic  have,  I  fear,  departed  forever  !  No 
human  wisdom  can  foretell  the  result.  But  if  the  wise 
and  patriotic  statesmanshii>  of  Judge  Smith  had  guided 
the  councils  of  the  nation  and  the  States,  this  mournful 
condition  of  our  country  would  never  have  occurred. 


WILLIAM  HARPER. 

Chancellor  Harper  ^\'as  a  practicing  lawyer  in  Colnmbia 
at  the  time  of  my  admission  to  the  bar,  and  was  one  of 
the  committee  appointed  to  examine  the  applicants  for 
admission.  He  had  been  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri previous  to  that  time,  and  had  a  very  high  reputa- 
tion as  a  lawyer.  Chancellor  Harper  ^vas  born  in  one  of 
the  West  India  Islands,  and  came  with  his  father  to  South 
Carolina  whilst  a  boy.  His  father  was  a  Methodist 
preacher  and  an  Abolitionist.  His  distinguished  son  be- 
came the  greatest  pro-slavery  man  in  the  Southern  States. 
He  graduated  in  the  South  Carolina  College  shortly  after 
the  organization  of  that  institution,  and  after  teaching 
school  for  a  short  time,  commenced  the  study  of  law.  He 
married  Miss  Coulter,  and  moved  to  Missouri,  where  he 
became  in  a  very  short  time,  the  Chancellor  of  that  young 
and  prosperous  State.  He  returned  to  South  Carolina 
after  a  few  years,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in 
Columbia,  in  partnership,  I  think,  with  his  brother-in- 
law.  Colonel  William  C.  Preston.  On  the  death  of  John 
Gailliard  during  the  recess  of  our  Legislature,  Governor 
Manning  appointed  Chancellor  Harper  to  fill  his  seat  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  till  an  election  was  made 
by  the  Legislature.  I  heard  Judge  Berrian  say  that  Har- 
per took  a  very  high  stand  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  during  the  very  short,  time  he  served  in  that  body. 
His  speech  on  the  Judiciary  was  highly  complimented  as 
a  very  able  and  learned  argument.  He  refused  to  be  a 
candidate  when  the  election  took  place,  and  the  contest 
was  between  Judge  Smith  and  Judge  Huger.  The  former 
who  had  been  turned  out  of  the  Senate  by  Gen.  Hayne, 


86  Wi]>i,iAM  IIaui'er. 

was  elcH'k'tl.  ('luiiK'C'lli)r  Harper  then  moved  to  Cluirle.s- 
Um  and  I'ornied  a  partnership  in  the  practice  of  law  with 
Isaac  Hohnes,  Esij.  He  was  iinniecHately  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ix'gislature  from  the  city  of  Charleston,  and 
became  ISjieaker  of  the  Honse  of  Representatives.  It  was 
donbtetl  at  the  time,  whether  he  had,  with  all  his  great 
leiiruing  and  talents,  the  proper  qualifications  for  a 
Speaker.  In  reply.  General  Thompson  said  that  Harjx^r 
conld  fill  any  position  well,  and  he  could  make  a  good 
dancing  master.  AMiilst  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
he  was  elected  one  of  the  Chancellors  of  the  State  in  the 
place  of  Chancellor  Thomj)son  who  resigned.  He  Mas 
then  elected  to  the  Appeal  Bench  with  Judge  O'Neal  1 
and  Judge  David  Johnson  as  his  associates.  He  continued 
on  the  Appeal  Bench  till  the  court  of  three  was  abolished, 
and  he  was  then  transferred  again  to  the  Chancery  Bench, 
where  he  continued  until  his  death. 

Chancellor  Harper's  memory  was  wonderful  and  almost 
beyond  belief.  I  heard  Judge  Wardlaw  say  that  Chan- 
cellor Harper  told  liim,  that  he  read  one  morning  before 
breakfast,  Campbell's  "  Pleasures  of  Hope,"  soon  afi:erthe 
poem  was  published — had  never  read  it  since,  and  could 
then  repeat  the  whole  of  it  from  memory.  Some  one 
present  asked  Judge  Wardla^v  if  he  believed  it.  The 
Judge  replied,  "  Yes,  I  believe  an\i:liing  that  Harper  tells 
me  as  a  fact  within  his  own  knowledge."  Governor 
David  Johnson  told  me  that  one  morning,  at  the  break- 
fast table  in  Stewart's  hotel  in  Charleston,  some  one  read 
a  half  column  of  "  cross  reading,"  having  neither  sense 
or  connection,  which  it  was  stated  that  a  man  had  re- 
peated after  hearing  it  read  once.  As  they  were  going  to 
the  court  room,  Harper  said  to  him,  I  can  repeat  every 
word  of  that  "cross  reading,"  and  did  so.  AVitli  such  a 
memory,  it  is  no  wonder  that  Chancellor  Harper  was  a 
great  la\v}'er.  A  very  common  man  with  such  powers 
of  memor)'-,  could  easily  make  himself  leai'ned  in  any  and 
all  sciences.  But  Chancellor  Harj^er's  mind  was  almost 
e(|ual  to  his  memory.     He  was  a  great   logician,  but  an 


William  Harper.  87 

unpleasant  sjicaker,  and  as  to  eloquence,  he  had  none.  In 
the  Legislature  he  always  seemed  to  hesitate  whilst  speak- 
ing, and  very  ofleu  repeated  a  sentence  just  uttered.  His 
speeches,  when  published,  were  always  most  admirable 
arguments.  He  was  a  beautiful  writer  and  a  fine  belles- 
lettres  scholar.  In  his  younger  days  he  wrote  poetry, 
which,  it  is  said,  was  very  fine.  No  one  would  ever  have 
supposed  him  to  be  a  poet  from  his  appearance,  conversa- 
tion and  speeches.  His  person  was  tall,  slender  and  un- 
graceful. He  was  a  greiit  novel  reader,  and  devoured  all 
the  literary  trash  of  the  day. 

I  was  present  in  Columbia  when  Chancellor  Harper 
united  himself  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  saw  him  go 
up  and  kneel  at  the  altar  w  ith  a  dozen  or  two  of  young 
ladies,  to  be  confirmed  by  the  bishop.  I  thought  it  a 
very  interesting  sight.  There,  perhaps,  never  w^as  a  more 
pure  minded  gentleman  than  Chancellor  Harper,  or  one 
who  had  less  disguise  about  liim.  He  had  an  infirmity 
which  many  great  and  good  men  have  had,  but  even  this, 
he  never  thought  of  trying  to  conceal.  It  would  seem 
that  intemperance,  to  some  men,  is  unavoidable  and  can- 
not be  resisted.  I  have  understood  that,  on  one  occa- 
sion. Colonel  William  C.  Preston,  the  intimate  friend  and 
brother-in-law  of  Chancellor  Harjier,  undertook  to  re- 
monstrate with  him  on  this  unfortunate  habit.  He 
silenced  the  Colonel  at  once  by  saying :  "  Do  you  think, 
Preston,  that  anything  you  can  say  could  influence  me  in 
this  matter,  when  the  love  of  my  wife  and  children 
cannot  ?  " 

Chancellor  Harper  once  told  me,  that  in  going  from 
New  Orleans  to  INIobile  with  his  wife  and  daughter,  they 
had  with  them  a  favorite  maid  servant  who  was  a  bright 
mulatto.  The  captain  of  the  vessel  came  to  him  and 
asked  if  that  was  his  servant  aboard,  and  said  she  wx)uld 
be  forfeited  on  their  landing  in  Mobile  on  account  of  some 
omission  at  the  Custom  House.  The  Chancellor  then 
said  he  would  pay  him  to  return  to  New  Orleans  AV'itii  his 
boat,  and  have  the  omission  corrected.     The  captain  re- 


88  WiijJAM  IIaiu'er. 

plial  tluit  the  servant  would  he  Hahle  to  .seizure  it"  they 
returneil.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  caj)tain  suggested 
that  lie  might  evade  the  public  officer  by  dressing  up  the 
maid  and  putting  a  veil  over  her  face.  Tiie  idea  was 
adoptetl,  and  the  maid  servant  was  rigged  out  in  some  of 
the  daughter's  finest  dresses,  etc.  On  the  landing  of  the 
boat,  the  Chancellor  gave  his  arm  to  the  maid  closely 
veilal,  and  permitted  Mrs.  Harper  and  the  daughter  to 
follow  behind.  They  Avent  to  the  hotel,  and  atler  the 
ladies  retired  to  their  rooms,  the  maid  assumed  her  oAvn 
dress.  I  repeated  this  story  to  one  of  our  Judges,  who 
said  he  would  venture  that  it  w'as  the  only  piece  of  de- 
ception that  Harper  ever  practiced  in  his  life. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life.  Chancellor  Harper  got 
permission  of  the  Legislature  to  visit  Europe,  and  he  was 
absent  from  the  State  for  seven  or  eight  months.  He  was 
greatly  shocked  at  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Paris.  His  modesty  and  bashfuluess  were  so  much 
outraged  on  several  occasions,  that  he  said,  "he  could 
hardly  regard  them  as  folks."  Although  the  strongest 
of  pro-slavery  men,  Chancellor  Harper  ^vas  in  favor  of 
educating  slaves  as  the  Romans  did.  He  said  it  would 
make  them  a  better  people  and  better  slaves.  I  remem- 
ber he  delivered  an  address  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  be- 
fore some  convention  in  Columbia,  which  was  two  or 
three  hours  long.  Governor  Hamilton,  who  was  very 
much  exhausted  listening  so  long,  pronounced  it  "a  very 
slavish  address," 

In  our  nullification  contest,  Chancellor  Harper  was  re- 
garded next  to  Calhoun  in  expounding  this  new  political 
doctrine.  I  have  understood  that  Mr.  Calhoun  said, 
*' Harper  comprehended  the  wdiole  subject  better  than  any 
one  he  had  ever  met  with."  The  human  mind  is  a  great 
mystery.  In  all  ages  and  countries,  some  of  the  greatest, 
wisest  and  best  men,  have  advanced  doctrines  and  princi- 
ples which  ought  to  disgrace  an  idiot  or  characterize  a 
villain.  Whilst  a  Union  Convention  was  assembled  in 
Columbia  during  the  sitting  of  the  Legislature,  I  heard 


William  Harper.  89 

Chancellor  Harper  declare  that,  "  there  was  not  another 
country  in  the  world  where  such  an  assemblage  would  be 
tolerated."  The  object  of  this  convention  was  to  pre- 
serve the  Union  and  expose  nullification.  And  although 
there  was  a  majority  in  favor  of  nullification,  there  was  a 
large  minority,  composed  of  some  of  the  best  and  wisest 
men  in  the  State  who  opposed  it.  I  have  heard  Chan- 
cellor Harper  eulogize  "the  old  Articles  of  Confederation" 
as  a  form  of  government. 

Chancellor  Harper  might  have  made  a  fortune  if  he 
had  been  as  money-loving  as  some  men.  But  he  cared 
nothing  for  fortune,  and  declared  most  positively,  that  he 
would  not  accept  Colonel  Hampton's  sugar  plantation  in 
Louisiana,  and  his  thousand  slaves,  if  required  to  keep  it 
and  manage  it. 

The  learning  and  ability  of  Chancellor  Harper  may  be 
seen  in  his  opinions  of  the  Appeal  Court,  as  reported  in 
our  law  reports.  He  wrote  but  little  else,  and  this  is  to 
be  veiy  much  regretted,  for  he  was  a  fine  writer  as  well 
as  a  fine  scholar.  His  high  and  pure  character,  great 
abilities  and  scholarship  justly  entitled  him  to  rank  with 
the  greatest  and  best  of  Carolina's  sons. 


DANIEL  ELLIOTT  IIUGER. 

I  have  been  more  devoted  to  Judge  Hiiger  and  loved 
111  111  more  tluin  any  otlier  jmblie  man  in  South  Carolina. 
He  was  my  beau  ideal  of  honor,  chivalry  and  manly 
character.  Long  before  I  knew  him  personally  and 
before  I  was  grown,  I  had  the  highest  admiration  of  his 
character  and  Roman  virtues.  I  became  acquainted  with 
him  while  reading  law  in  Judge  Earle's  office.  After  my 
admission  to  the  bar,  I  became  intimate  with  him  ;  as 
intimate  as  I  could  be  with  one  so  much  my  senior  in 
years,  and  so  far  above  me  in  position.  It  is  said  that 
love  begets  love ;  and  I  can  only  account  for  Judge 
Huger's  affectionate  regard  for  me  on  this  principle.  He 
wes  a  noble-looking  gentleman,  courteous  and  affable  in  his 
manners  ;  social,  cordial  and  remarkably  pleasant  in  con- 
versation. There  ^vas  a  high  tone  and  bearing  about  him 
in  conversation,  manners  and  action,  which  attracted  my 
admiration  at  first  sight.  He  was  tall,  slender,  and  very 
erect  in  his  person,  even  in  old  age.  His  complexion 
was  dark,  and  his  face  agreeable,  in  spite  of  his  huge 
eyebrows,  which  the  Keverend  Dr.  Johnson  said  re- 
minded him,  whilst  the  judge  was  speaking,  of  Milton's 
ex[)ression  of  the  devil — "  and  all  hell  grew  darker  at 
his  frown."  It  is  true  that  his  dark  frown  and  sardonic 
grin,  whilst  excited  in  debate,  were  terrific.  He  was 
ever  regarded  by  all  as  the  highest  specimen  of  a  South 
Carolina  gentleman  of  the  old  school. 

Judge  Huger  was  a  Federalist  of  the  Washington 
stamp  in  politics.  This  prevented  his  early  success  in 
jinblic  life,  and  kept  him  out  of  the  United  States  Senate 
till  the  close  of  his  life.      Had  he  entered  that  body  at  an 


Daniel  Elliott  Huger.  91 

earlier  period,  lie  could  have  attained  to  very  high  and 
commanding  influence  in  it.  His  talents  Avere  not  of  the 
highest  order,  nor  were  his  attainments  and  learning 
equal  to  that  of  some ;  but  he  was  a  wise  man,  a  pure 
man,  and  in  all  times  and  in  everything  a  safe  counsellor. 
I  would  sooner  have  relied  on  his  judgment  about  any 
question,  than  that  of  any  other  man  I  ever  knew.  The 
remark  which  Mr.  Poinsett  once  made  to  me  of  General 
Jackson,  might  well  be  applied  to  Judge  Huger.  "  His 
wisdom  was  more  of  the  heart  than  the  head."  Indeed, 
there  was  a  great  similarity  in  many  traits  of  character 
between  Andrew  Jackson  and  Daniel  E.  Huger.  Judge 
Huger  spoke  well  and  Avrote  well.  But  while  he  was 
fond  of  speaking,  and  spoke  very  often,  he  seldom  wrote 
an}i:hing  for  publication.  His  manner  of  speaking  was 
slow,  distinct  and  emphatic,  with  long  pauses.  This 
gave  rise  to  the  expression  of  the  Nullitiers  that  he  was 
"a  man  of  short  sentences  and  long  pauses."  In  the 
Legislature  of  South  Carolina,  Judge  Huger  was  for 
many  years  supreme  dictator  of  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives. In  our  nullification  contest  he  had  more  influence 
in  the  Union  party  than  any  one  else  in  all  their  cau- 
cuses and  consultations.    - 

I  rode  the  Western  circuit  with  Judge  Huger,  and  in 
his  carriage,  about  the  beginning  of  nullification.  Our 
views  in  reference  to  the  rights  of  the  States  and  the 
powers  of  the  national  government  were  the  same ;  but 
on  many  other  subjects  we  differed  widely.  He  con- 
tended that  no  one  should  enter  public  life  without  a 
fortune.  If  he  did,  he  would  be  so  much  exposed  to 
temptation,  and  the  world  be  so  much  inclined  to  sus- 
pect him,  that  he  could  not  exercise  the  influence  he 
otherwise  might.  The  people  would  think  him  an  office- 
hunter.  Besides,  he  must  neglect  making  a  proper  })r()- 
vision  for  his  family,  which  was  incumbent  on  every  one. 
I'his  was  all  aristocratic  heresy  to  me  at  that  time,  but  I 
am  now  satisfied  with  its  truth  and  wisdom.  The  judge 
declared  that  no  member  of  (\)ngress  should  receive  any 


92  Daniel  Elliott  Huger. 

connK'Hsatioii  for  his  services.  This  worild,  in  a  great 
nioasuro,  exchulc  all  but  the  Avealthy  class  from  the 
council  of"  the  nation.  I  still  doubt  the  Avisdoni  of  any 
such  exclusion. 

Judge  Huger  spoke  freely  of  Calhoun,  Lowndes  and 
Cheves.  He  said  Calhoun  would  have  made  the  greatest 
meta])hysician  in  the  world.  He  would  take  him  in  pre- 
ference to  any  other  man  in  the  Union  to  get  an  adminis- 
tration out  of  a  difficulty.  fJudge  Huger  and  (lovernor 
Joseph  Alston  were  members  of  the  Legislature  when 
Calhoun  entered  it  a  very  young  man.  Alston  was  a 
great  manager  in  all  political  movements.  He  was  the 
son-in-law  of  Aaron  Burr,  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  and  had  imbibed  some  of  his  father-in-hnv's  love 
of  intrigue  and  management.  One  day  Alston  came  to 
Judge  Hnii;er  and  said :  ''  I  am  afraid  I  shall  find  this 
long  awkward  fellow  from  Abbeville  hard  to  manage." 
Calhoun,  though  very  young  and  awkward,  had  satisfied 
Alston  that  he  was  disposed  to  set  up  for  himself,  and 
scorned  the  lead  of  any  one.  Judge  Huger  said  tliat  Mr. 
Calhoun  was  not  expert  at  that  time  in  framing  resolu- 
tions, but  no  one  excelled  him  in  that  respect  in  after  life. 

"Mr.  Lowndes,"  said  Judge  Huger,  "Avas  one  of  the 
purest  and  best  men  I  ever  knew.  He  was  endowed  by 
nature  with  the  very  highest  intellectual  qualities,  and 
was  capable  of  filling  and  adorning  any  public  station  in 
the  world.  He  was  a  man  of  perfect  fairness  in  debate, 
as  well  as  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  He  would  advance 
a  proposition  and  give  his  reasons  for  it  with  us  much 
ability  as  any  one ;  but  if  he  failed  he  would  never  bring 
it  forward  again.  Not  so  with  Cheves.  He  would  never 
give  up  a  proposition  or  cease  to  contend  for  it."  Judge 
Huger  and  William  Lowndes  had  read  law  together, 
were  very  intimate,  entered  the  Legislature  together,  and 
were  seconds  for  each  other  in  several  affairs  of  honor. 

In  going  from  Greenville  to  Laurens  Court,  Judge 
Huger  and  myself  staid  all  night  Avith  Colonel  Lewers. 
He  would  not  charge  for  his  entertainment.     The  next 


Daniel  Elliott  Hucer.  93 

day  the  judge  found  that  the  colonel  had  a  case  of  assault 
and  battery  in  court.  He  pleaded  guilty,  and  the  prose- 
cutor presented  an  affidavit.  Judge  Huger  declined  to 
pass  sentence  and  continued  the  case.  As  we  were  going 
to  Abbeville  I  inquired  what  had  become  of  the  case.  He 
looked  at  me  very  sternly  and  said  :  "  I  would  not  think 
of  sending  a  man  to  jail  after  sharing  his  hospitality."  I 
told  this  to  Judge  Earle,  who  said  that  if  it  had  been 
some  other  judge  the  colonel  would  have  received  a 
nominal  sentence  and  been  dismissed  the  court.  In  the 
trial  of  some  case  at  Laurens,  Judge  Huger  said  to  the 
jury,  "  That  no  father  would  do  justice  between  his  own 
son  and  a  stranger."  I  remarked  to  him  afterwards,  in 
taking  a  Avalk,  that  I  was  surprised  at  this  expression 
coming  from  him,  for  I  had  thought  that  he  was  too 
much  of  a  Roman  for  that.  He  replied  that  he  might 
think  he  was  doing  justice ;  but  nature  would  deceive 
him.  We  stopped  at  Colonel  Campbell's,  on  the  Taluda, 
as  we  were  going  to  Abbeville  Cburt,  and  stayed  all 
night.  Mrs.  Campbell  had  been  partially  brought  up  in 
the  family  of  a  cousin  of  the  judge.  She  was  speaking  of 
matches  of  expediency,  with  seeming  approval.  The 
judge  said  to  her  with  a  most  indignant  scowl:  "Tell  me 
that  a  virtuous  woman  will  marry  a  man  she  don't  love  ? 
Never  !"  I  have  frequently  thought  of  this  expression 
in  after  life.  The  tone  of  the  judge  and  the  feeling  mani- 
fested made  a  deep  impression  on  my  mind.  If  this 
opoinion  be  correct,  and  I  shall  not  dispute  it,  how  many 
are  there  who  jiass  through  life  unsuspected. 

The  judge  told  me  that  when  his  eldest  daughter  mar- 
ried her  husband,  who  was  a  high-toned,  honorable 
young  man,  he  proposed  that  there  should  be  a  settlement 
of  the  wife's  property.  "No,"  said  the  judge,  "I  have 
entrusted  you  with  the  happiness  of  my  child,  which  is 
much  dearer  to  me  than  her  fortune."  He  likewise  gave 
his  daughter  this  advice  on  leaving  his  house.  "  If  any 
difficult  should  ever  occur  between  me  and  your  husband, 
remember   you    are   to  take  sides   with    your    husl)and 


94  Danikl  Elmott  Huger. 

ntrainst  your  lather."  Tlio  Jiulo^o,  a  short  time  attor  his 
iiiarria<i:o,  chalk'nged  his  hrothor-in-hiAv,  Major  Ivutledge. 
The  major  haviuii;  been  an  officer  in  the  army  and  a  man 
of  lionor  and  cliivalrv,  acoejrted  the  challenge,  and  then 
said  to  INfr.  A^'illiam  Lowndes,  who  bore  the  challenge, 
that  he  Avould  like  to  know  what  offence  he  had  given. 
Mr.  liowndes,  the  intimate  and  bosom  friend  of  the 
judge,  had  to  tell  Major  Rutledge  that  the  cause  of  the 
hostile  message  had  never  been  disclosed  to  liim  !  They 
met  and  exchanged  shots  and  Rntledge  was  wounded, 
but  no  one  ever  kncsv  the  cause  of  their  meeting. 

I  A\as  present  in  the  Legislature  when  a  difficulty 
occurred  between  Judge  Huger  and  the  Hon.  R.  B. 
Rhett.  JNIr.  Ehett  pointed  his  finger,  in  debate,  at 
the  judge,  and  said  he  despised  the  man  who  endeavored 
to  scare  the  people  with  nullification.  Judge  Huger  re- 
plied to  the  argument  coolly  and  calmly,  and  as  he  con- 
cluded, said  he  had  too  much  respect  for  the  House  to 
obtrude  personal  remarks  in  debate.  Immediately  he 
sent  a  challenge,  and  the  matter  was  adjusted.  On  an- 
other occasion  I  was  present  when  a  young  member  of 
the  Legislature  alluded  sarcastically  to  the  judge's  age. 
He  pi'omptly  re})lied :  "  I  have  been  brought  up  in  a 
school  which  knows  no  age  for  dishonor."  When  he 
and  Lowndes  first  went  to  the  liCgislature,  there  was  an 
old  Scotchman,  a  hn\yer  named  Faulker,  who  was  also  a 
member.  He  Avas  a  man  of  ability,  and  had  made  a 
speech  to  which  the  judge  was  replying  in  pretty  severe 
terms.  The  Scotchman  remarked  loud  enough  to  l)e  heard 
by  those  around  him:  "What  is  that  puppy  barking  at 
me  for?"  The  judge  did  not  hear  the  remark,  l)ut  no- 
ticed that  it  produced  a  laugh  at  his  expense.  He  asked 
the  meml)er  to  repeat  what  he  had  said.  No  notice  w^as 
taken  of  the  request.  On  ascertaining  A\hat  the  words 
were,  he  sent  his  friend,  Lowndes,  with  a  challenge. 
Faulker  read  it  very  carefully  and  put  it  in  his  j:>reeches 
pocket.  Lowndes,  after  waiting  some  time,  iiujuired 
what  message  h(!  should  carry  l)ackto  his  friend.    "None 


Daniel  Elliott  Hucjer.     '  /■ ,  ilO 

at  all,"  was  the  sharp  reply.  Never  were  two  young 
i>;entleineii,  said  the  judge,  so  completely  put  out!  They 
did  not  know  AA'hat  to  do.  They  could  not  resort- to 
personal  violence  on  an  old  man.  At  last  it  was  agreed 
that  the  judge  should  denounce  the  old  lawyer  in  the 
House.  This  he  did,  and  the  old  man  took  no  notice 
of  it. 

Judge  Huger  had  been  a  leading  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature for  several  years,  and  a  brigadier-general  before  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  His  family  had  always  been 
prejudiced  against  the  profession.  When  admitted  to 
the  bar,  a  lawyer  expressed  his  surprise  to  the  judge, 
that  he  should  have  determined  so  late  in  life,  to  become  a 
lawyer,  in  o})position  to  the  prejudices  of  his  family. 
The  judge  told  him  that  his  expenses  in  the  city  were  so 
heavy  that  he  had  either  to  move  to  his  plantation  and 
live  with  his  negroes,  or  be  admitted  to  the  bar  and  be- 
come the  associate  of  laA\yers.  Between  negroes  and 
lawyers  he  had  given  the  preference  to  the  latter. 

Judge  Huger  was  the  son  of  General  Huger,  of  the 
American  Revolution,  and  second  in  command  of  the 
S  nithern  army  to  General  Greene.  His  mother  was  an 
Elliott.  When  General  Greene  was  introduced  to  Gen- 
eral Huger's  family,  he  said  to  him:  "I  did  not  know 
what  an  interesting  family  you  had  at  home,  or  I  might 
not  have  exposed  you  as  nnich  as  I  did  in  battle."  The 
salaries  of  the  judges  were  reduced  by  the  Legislature, 
and  Judge  Huger  immediately  resigned.  He  was  re- 
elected to  receive  the  diminished  salary.  His  punctilious 
sense  of  honor  would  not  let  him  receive  a  larger  com- 
pensation for  his  services  than  the  State  was  willing  to 
l)ay.  In  speaking  of  this  ])ublic-spirited  act.  Colonel 
Preston,  Avho  was  opposed  to  the  judge  in  politics,  re- 
marked that  a  thousand  dollars  was  a  very  small  matter 
with  Judge  Huger,  who  wa.s  a  man  of  large  fortune ; 
and  that  he  would  only  have  to  take  a  glass  of  wine  less 
every  day  to  make  up  the  loss  in  his  salary  !  Tn  a  few 
years  afterwards  he  again  resigned  his  seat  on  the  bench 


90  Danikl  Elliott  PIuger. 

to  *;(»  into  the  I^ctrislatiuv,  and  save  the  State  from  nulli- 
fication. Wlien  our  ])oliti('al  excitement  liad  died  away, 
Judge  Huger  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate. 
This  position  he  soon  resigned  to  make  room  for  Mr. 
Calhoun.  The  judge  told  me  that  he  felt  unfit  for  the 
Senate  and  the  intrigues  of  AVashington. 

In  1851,  Judge  Huger  voted  the  secession  ticket  !  I 
in(|uiral  of  him  how  it  was  that  he  had  changed  his 
politics  ?  He  replied  that  he  was  a  Union  man,  and 
hoped  to  see  the  Union  preserved  !  He  said  he  voted  for 
secession  to  save  the  Union !  How  the  old  gentleman 
ex])lained  this  I  do  not  now^  remember.  But  I  have  no 
doubt  he  died  a  sincere  lover  of  the  Union,  as  hundreds 
of  others  have  done,  w^ho  voted  the  secession  ticket.  On 
the  bench  he  made  a  good  circuit  judge,  though  not  so 
profound  a  lawyer  as  some  of  his  associates.  His  great 
good  sense,  wisdom  and  judgment  supplied  any  de- 
ficiency he  might  have  had  in  professional  learning. 

Judge  Huger  was  a  man  of  strong  religious  feelings 
throughout  his  life,  I  heard  him  in  the  Legislature,  de- 
nounce, in  no  measured  terms,  the  infidel  notions  of  Dr. 
Cooper,  President  of  the  South  Carolina  College.  He 
said  no  one  should  intrust  the  education  of  his  sons  to 
such  a  man.  He  once  told  me  an  expression  of  Governor 
Joseph  Alston,  in  which  he  heartily  concurred.  The 
Governor  said  he  })itied,  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  the 
man  who  did  not  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 
During  our  political  excitement  he  w^as  so  much  disturbed 
by  politics  that  he  withdrew  from  the  Episcojxil  church ; 
but  for  several  years  previous  to  his  death  he  was  a 
regular  communicant  of  the  church. 

In  speaking  of  Governor  McDuffie,  after  they  had 
served  together  in  the  United  States  Senate,  Judge  Huger 
remarked  to  me  that  McDuffie  was  a  Christian  in  heart 
and  feelings.  He  had  all  the  charity,  kindness  and  love 
of  a  Christian.  Judge  Huger,  though  a  Federalist,  was 
the  advocate  of  the  war  of  1812.  He  said  he  was  de- 
nounced l)y  the  Republicans  as  a  Federalist,  and  by  the 


Daniel  Elliott  Huger.  97 

Federalists  as  an  apostate.  His  friends  passed  liini  in 
the  streets  without  speaking.  For  several  years  Judge 
Huger  and  myself  served  together  in  the  Legislature, 
boarded  together  at  the  same  hotel,  and  always  sat  next 
to  each  other  at  the  table,  where  we  had  every  day  long 
and  interesting  conversations.  In  these  conversations  I 
was  greatly  interested  and  edified.  He  amused  me  often 
by  describing  the  manners  and  customs  of  a  past  age  in 
South  Carolina.  He  drew  sketches  of  the  public  men  of 
those  times  and  told  anecdotes  of  them. 

I  have  said  Judge  Huger  and  General  Jackson  were 
alike  in  many  traits  of  their  character.  They  were  both 
the  bravest  among  the  brave.  They  were  courteoiLS  and 
frank  in  their  manners.  Neither  of  them  had  much 
fondness  for  hterature.  Never  were  there  two  men  who 
would  more  cheerfully  have  sacrificed  their  lives  for  their 
country.  Judge  Huger  Mas  a  great  talker,  and  talked 
remarkably  well.  He  Mas  fond  of  the  company  of  ladies, 
and  full  of  his  compliments  to  them.  The  affection  be- 
tM'een  him  and  his  cousin  Alfred  Huger  was  interesting. 
They  appeared  to  each  other  like  lovers.  I  was  dining 
at  Judge  Huger's  one  day,  Mhen  the  ncMly-appointed 
postmaster  was  announced.  If  a  lady  with  Mhom  a 
gentleman  M'as  in  love,  had  presented  herself,  there  could 
not  have  been  a  more  heartfelt  manifestation.  The  judge 
always  lived  in  magnificent  style  and  entertained  with 
great  hospitality.  He  M'as  a  kind  master,  and  took  a 
most  patriarchal  care  of  his  slaves.  AVhile  on  the  circuit 
he  discovered  his  coachman  asleep  as  he  Mas  driving 
from  one  court  house  to  another.  Instead  of  reproving 
him  he  exchanged  seats  ^vith  him  and  told  him  to  lie  down 
in  the  carriage  and  make  out  his  nap. 

Judge  Huger  was  bitterly  opposed  to  John  Quincy 
Adams.  He  told  me  that,  dining  one  day  in  Boston 
M-ith  a  party  of  great  men,  he  said  to  them  that  the 
South  M'as  Milling  to  concede  the  next  President  to  tlie 
North,   if  a  suitable  candidate  Mas  presented ;  but  that 


98  Daniel  Elliott  Huger. 

they  would  uot  support  Mr.  Adams.  The  geutleniau 
asked  who  woukl  Ix)  accej^table  to  the  South,  and  Mr. 
Webster  was  named  by  Judge  Huger.  One  of  the  com- 
pany innnahately  inquired  of  him  if  tht;  South  would 
suj)])ort  for  the  Presidency  a  hiwyer  who  pocketed  his 
clients'  money.  The  judge  said  he  did  not  think  they 
would,  with  a  knowledge  of  the  fact. 


FRANKLIN  H.  ELMORE. 

This  gentleman  was  born  in  Lanrens  District.  His ' 
father  was  General  Elmore,  and  his  mother  a  Saxon,  He 
graduated  at  the  South  C^arolina  College ;  read  law  and 
was  admitted  to  the  Bar.  Very  soon  after  he  commenced 
the  practice  of  law,  he  married  the  daughter  of  Governor 
John  Taylor,  of  Columbia,  and  was  elected  Solicitor  of 
that  circuit.  When  Governor  Hammond  resigned  his 
seat  in  Congress,  Colonel  Elmore  was  elected  his  suc- 
cessor. He  remained  in  Congress  several  years,  and  ac- 
quired a  high  reputation  there  as  a  debater  and  political 
manager.  He  was  then  elected  President  of  the  Bank  of 
the  State,  and  remained  at  the  head  of  this  institution  for 
many  years.  He  managed  its  finances  with  great  abilit}', 
and  defended  the  institution  with  untiring  zeal  and 
fidelity.  It  was  assailed  by  many  of  the  first  men  of  the 
State,  but  Colonel  Elmore  always  managed  to  repel  their 
assaults  with  triumphant  success.  When  the  city  of 
Charleston  was  burnt,  in  1838,  he  managed  to  increase 
the  capital  of  the  bank  several  millions,  by  means  of  the 
"  Fire  Loan,"  for  rebuilding  the  city.  The  Bank  of  the 
State  became,  in  a  measure,  a  ])()liti('al  machine,  and  the 
politicians  were  very  freely  accommodated  M'ith  loans  by 
the  Board  of  Directors.  The  l)ank  controlled  the  State, 
and  Colonel  Elmore  controlled  the  bank. 

The  Governor,  Seabrook,  had  intimated  that  he  should 
reccommend,  in  his  annual  message  to  the  I^egislature,  to 
put  the  bank  in  liquidation.  This  information  was  com- 
municated to  CV)lonel  Elmore,  and  thereupon,  he  wrote 
me  the  following  letter;  and  immediately  after  my  arri- 
val in  Columbia,  he  called  to  see  me.     He  came  to  my 


100  Franklin  H.  Elmore. 

room  and  w\t  till  a  late  hour  in  the  night,  iirfi:;iii<ij  the  im- 
propriety of  tlu!  eoiirse  which  Governor  Seabrook  was 
disj)osetl  to  jinrsue  iu  regard  to  the  bank.  I  stated  to 
him  frankly  that  I  was  opposed  to  the  bank,  that  I  did 
not  think  it  ])ro])er  for  the'  State  to  undertake  the  man- 
agement of  a  bank,  and  that  I  Avas  in  favor  of  bringing 
the  institution  to  a  close.  My  reasons  and  argument 
were  set  forth  at  some  length.  I  can  never  forget  the 
utter  disappointment  and  mortification  of  Col.  Elmore 
on  that  occasion.  He  left  me  sad  and  sorrowful,  and  I 
really  felt  pained  for  him : 

Charleston,  Nov.  16,  1849. 

Dear  Si?':  Your  course  as  a  public  man  has  always 
been  characterized  by  openness  and  candor,  as  well  as  by 
statesmanship  that  looks  beyond  the  moment's  victory 
into  the  more  important  results  of  the  future.  I  write 
you,  therefore,  in  the  spirit  of  candor,  and  with  the  public 
welfare  as  my  object,  on  a  subject  as  deejjly  affecting  South* 
Carolina  as  any  ever  presented. 

I  heard,  at  Columbia,  from  one  ever  hostile  to  the  bank 
of  the  State,  that  Governor  Seabrook  would  recommend 
its  being  put  in  innncdiate  liquidation.  It  would  have 
been  incredible  had  no  coming  events  cast  their  shadows 
before,  but  that  which  was  rumor,  as  one  might  have  sup- 
posed at  Columbia,  is  repeated  in  the  streets  here,  and  is, 
I  have  reason  to  know,  true. 

Now,  my  dear  sir,  on  you  and  on  your  course  more 
will  depend  than  any  man  in  the  Legislature,  perhaps  in 
the  State.  You  can  stay  this  ill-advised  and  rash  meas- 
ure, and  save  your  State,  and  perhaps  the  whole  South, 
much  trouble,  perhaps  fatal  to  our  own  prosperity,  and 
hazarding  the  great  Southern  cause  by  its  precipitation 
and  the  divisions  and  distractions  it  will  inevitably  pro- 
duce. We,  arrayed  in  domestic  conflict,  into  two  fierce 
parties,  will  present  a  poor  example  of  that  union  on 
which  the  South  must  rely,  and  a  miserable  head  to  rally 
and  direct  their  movements. 


Franklin  H.  Elmore,  101 

But  agaiu.  At  this  inoiiieut  I  proclaim  aud  declare 
this  bank  is  stronger  and  more  fully  prepared  to  fulfil  all 
its  functions  than  I  ever  knew  it.  It  has  never  failed  to 
fulfil  every  obligation.  It  has  paid  more  than  $5,000,- 
000  to  public  debts  and  treasury  from  profits.  It  has 
received  and  paid  about  $30,000,000  of  public  moneys, 
and  never  lost  a  cent.  It  has  supported  the  State  Gov- 
ernment, times  without  number,  and  for  months,  aud  for 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  dollars,  wdien  it  had  not  a 
cent  in  its  treasury.  It  has  kept  the  faith  and  credit  of 
the  State  aud  its  o^vn  without  blot  or  blemish ;  and  now, 
when  it  has  six  years  of  chartered  existence  to  run,  and 
is  under  pledge  to  the  creditors  of  the  State,  abroad  and 
at  home,  it  is  called  to  the  bar  of  crime  and  ignominiously 
to  be  stripped  of  its  privileges,  and,  like  a  convicted  crim- 
inal, condemned  to  public  execution.  Cau  you  aid  in 
this  ? 

Do,  my  dear  sir,  write  to  me  and  let  me  know  what 
will  be  your  course,  for  I  feel  the  deepest  anxiety — not 
for  myself,  but  for  the  State,  its  credit  aud  good  name  and 
prosperity. 

To  me,  personally,  the  relief  of  ten  years  to  pay  my 
debts  to  it,  which  is  to  be  one  of  the  conditions,  would  be 
more  than  an  equivalent  for  any  personal  discomfort.  The 
relief,  too,  from  the  care  and  responsibilities  of  no  bed  of 
roses  might  restore  a  constitution  and  health  broken 
down  and  destroyed  almost  in  this  Sisyphean  labor  for  the 
public.    - 

Yours,  trulv, 

F.  H.  ELMORE. 

Hon.  B.  F.  Perry. 

The  bank,  however,  was  not  put  in  liquidation.  It 
had  too  many  friends  in  both  Houses  of  the  Ijcgislaturc 
for  such  a  measure  to  be  successful.  The  bank  continued 
its  operations  till  the  State  ultimately  lost  the  whole  cap- 
ital, four  or  five  millions  of  dollars,  by  the  Confederate 
loans  during;  our  civil  war. 


102  Franklin  H.  Elmore. 

On  tlie  death  of  Mr.  Callioiin,  Coloiu'l  Elmore  ^vasap- 
])ointcd  to  succeed  liini  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
He  remained  in  that  body  but  a  few  montlis  before  he  too 
wa.s  taken  from  life  to  eternity!  For  many  years,  Col. 
Elmore,  with  his  bank,  Avas  a  power  in  the  State,  and  a 
controlliiio-  [)owcr.  He  Avas  one  of  the  most  adroit  man- 
aging public  men  that  I  ever  saM'.  His  talents  were  of  a 
high  order,  and  his  power  of  controlling  others  unsur- 
passed. In  this  resjiect  he  Avas  not  unlike  General  Jack- 
S(m,and  his  head  and  face  Avere  not  unlike  "Old  Hickory." 
My.  Calhoun  once  characterized  President  Jackson,  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  as  possessing  the  qualities 
of  the  lion,  Avhilst  Van  Buren  possessed  those  of  the  fox 
and  the  weasel.  I  think,  Avith  all  his  firnmess  and  cour- 
age, and  other  high  (pialities,  there  Avas  more  of  the  fox 
in  General  Jackson's  face  than  of  the  lion. 

I  once  heard  CV)1.  \V^adc  Hampton,  the  intimate  friend 
of  Col.  Elmore,  say  that  if  there  Avere  two  Avays  of  ap- 
proaching any  point,  equally  safe  and  secure,  the  one 
direct  and  the  other  circuitous,  Elmore  Avould  always  take 
the  latter.  But  let  no  one  su])]iose  from  this  remark  that 
either  CV)1.  Hanqrton  or  myself  doubted  the  honor  and 
})atriotism  of  Col,  Elmore,  He  AA'as  an  honorable  man, 
and  a  most  Avorthy  and  excellent  gentleman.  It  Avas  his 
nature  to  be  courteous,  Avise  and  adroit.  He  seldom  gave 
oifence  to  any  one.  But  I  did  hear  him,  one  night,  talk 
to  Major  Felder,  a  former  member  of  Congress,  from 
BaruAvcll,  and  then  a  member  of  the  Senate,  from  Orange- 
burg, like  an  angry  master  Avould  speak  to  his  slaA^e !  I 
Avas  chairman  of  the  committee  on  finance,  in  the  State 
Senate,  and  Major  Felder  A\as  a  member  of  my  com- 
mittee. The  operations  of  the  bank  Avere  under  investi- 
gation by  the  committee.  Colonel  Elmore,  the  President 
of  the  bank,  Avas  called  before  the  committee  for  some  ex- 
planation, Afler  the  connnittec  adjourned.  Col,  Elmore 
addressal  Major  Felder  in  these  Avords:  "I  giA^e  you 
notice,  sir,  that  if  I  hear  of  your  speaking  of  the  affairs 
of  the  bank,  after  you  return  home,  as  you  Iuia'c  done  in 


Franklin  H.  Elmore.  103 

Columbia,  I  will  hold  you  personally  responsible  for 
it!" 

When  President  Polk  was  elected,  he  tendered  to  Col. 
Elmore  the  mission  to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  tlie  first  of 
all  foreign  missions.  President  Polk  and  Col.  Elmore 
were  in  Congress  together,  and  the  offer  of  this  Embassy 
to  Great  Britain,  shows  in  what  light  the  talents,  powers, 
patriotism  and  ability  of  Col.  Elmore  were  held  by  the 
President  elect.  Shortly  after  the  refusal  of  the  mission 
by  Col.  Elmore,  General  Thompson  and  myself  met  the 
Colonel,  with  his  family,  at  the  Lime  Stone  Springs. 
General  Thompson  said  to  him,  seated  in  the  piazza  of  the 
hotel :  "  There  is  some  difference,  Elmore,  between  this 
and  the  Court  of  St.  James."  "  Yes,"  replied  Elmore, 
"  I  am  here  at  home,  with  my  wife  and  children,  which 
is  far  more  agreeable  to  me  than  being  at  a  foreign  court." 

I  was  going  one  day  with  Colonel  Elmore  to  dine  at 
Mr.  Poinsett's,  when  he  made  some  allusion  to  our  rela- 
tive ages.  I  told  him  that  when  I  was  admitted  to  the 
Bar,  he  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  one  of  the  great  men  of 
the  State.  He  said  this  must  then  hav6  been  about  the 
time  he  graduated,  for  he  thought  himself  a  greater  man 
about  that  time  than  he  had  ever  done  since !  The  Col- 
onel was  a  very  warm-hearted  friend,  and  a  most  pleasant 
gentleman  in  society.  He  was  a  devoted  follower  of  Mr. 
Calhoun,  and  yet  had  great  influence  over  him.  I  know 
that  the  friends  of  Mr.  Calhoun  were  very  anxious  to  have 
him  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  as  his  colleague. 
They  thought  he  was  the  safest  counsellor  Mr.  Calhoun 
could  have.  A  seat  in  the  Senate  was  at  that  time  ten- 
dered to  Colonel  Elmore,  and  I  remember  he  called  his 
friends  together,  in  Columbia,  to  explain  to  them  why 
he  could  not  then  accept  of  a  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

On  the  death  of  Colonel  Elmore,  in  Washington,  both 
Houses  of  Congress  paid  a  high  tribute  of  respect  to  his 
memory.  Mr.  Webster  spoke  of  him  a.s  "a  leading 
member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,"  and  possessing 
"great  talent." 


JAMES  H.  HAMMOND. 

Governor  Hammond  was,  I  have  understood,  born  in 
Newberry  District,  South  Carolina,  Avhilst  his  father  re- 
sided there  and  had  cliarge  of  a  classical  school.  The 
father  of  Governor  Hammond  was  a  native  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  a  gentleman  of  education  and  talents.  He  was 
the  classmate  of  Daniel  Webster  in  Dartmouth  College, 
and  immediately  afler  graduating  came  to  South  Carolina. 
He  married  JNIiss  Spaun,  a  young  lady  of  Edgefield  Dis- 
trict, S.  C.  He  afterwards  moved  to  Columbia,  and  was 
connected  in  some  way  with  the  South  Carolina  College. 

Governor  Hamiuond  graduated  in  the  South  Carolina 
College  with  distinction,  and  commenced  reading  law  and 
editing  a  newspaper  in  Columbia.  He  acquired  consid- 
erable reputation*  as  an  editor,  and  his  style  was  terse, 
classic  and  chaste.  He  was  a  bitter  partisan  in  our  nulli- 
fication contests,  and  got  into  several  difficulties.  An  edi- 
tor at  Camden,  who  was  a  northern  man,  jjoured  out  the 
vials  of  his  wrath  on  Hammond  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
call  for  personal  castigation.  Hammond  went  to  Camden 
with  a  friend,  and  gave  the  editor  a  horse-whipping,  and 
was  shot  at  by  the  editor.  Soon  afterwards  he  became 
involved  in  a  difficulty  with  General  Blair,  a  member  of 
Congress  from  the  Camden  District.  General  Blair  was 
a  man  of  distinguished  ability  and  wide  reputation. 
Hammond  was  young,  just  entering  public  life,  and  he 
expressed  some  anxiety  to  know  of  the  General  whether 
he  held  himself  personally  responsible  for  A\hat  he  had 
said  of  him.  The  General  promptly  replied  that  he  would 
give  any  satisfaction  he  saw  j)r()per  to  demand.  There- 
upon a  (challenge  was  sent  and  accejited.  The  General, 
anticipating  a  challenge,  had  made  all  his  arrangements 


James  H.  Hammond.  105 

for  a  S}>eetly  meeting.  They  did  meet  on  the  field  of 
honor  >vith  their  seconds,  but  mutual  friends  interfered 
and  settled  the  difficulty. 

In  speaking  to  me  about  this  time  of  the  life  of  an  edi- 
tor, Hammond  said,  it  would  be  very  pleasant  if  all 
editors  were  gentlemen,  and  would  observe  that  courtesy 
which  was  due  between  gentlemen.  The  friends  of  Gov- 
ernor Hammond  had  a  very  high  opinion  of  his  talents 
and  ability.  I  heard  such  men  as  Col.  William  C.  Pres- 
ton and  Col  Wade  Hampton,  declare  that  he  was  the 
most  highly  gifted  and  promising  yoimg  man  in  the 
State.  He  was  extremely  handsome  in  his  younger  days, 
and  soon  married  Miss  Fitzsimmons,  the  sister  of  Colonel 
Wade  Hampton's  wife,  and  a  lady  of  very  large  fortune. 
Hammond  took  charge  of  the  estate,  which  consisted  of 
lands  and  negroes,  and  managed  it  very  piiideutly.  He 
made  fine  crops,  and  improved  the  j)roperty  very  much. 
In  the  mean  time  he  seemed  disposed  to  live  like  a  gen- 
tleman and  enjoy  his  fortime.  He  built  himself  a  mag- 
nificent residence  in  Columbia,  and  gave  splendid  enter- 
tainments, not  surpassed  by  those  of  any  gentleman  in 
South  Carolina.  He  wrote  a  series  of  articles  in  reply  to 
the  abolitionists  of  England  and  America,  which  attracted 
great  attention,  and  endeared  him  to  the  planters  of  the 
South  as  the  great  champion  of  African  slavery.  He  was 
nominated  for  Congress  in  the  district  composed  of  Barn- 
well, Richland,  Orangeburg  and  Lexington,  and  was 
elected  without  opposition.  Colonel  Franklin  T.  Elmore, 
afterwards  United  States  Senator,  and  President  of  the 
State  bank,  was  for  a  short  time  in  the  field  against  him, 
but  withdi'ew  before  the  election  came  off. 

In  Congress  Governor  Hammond  made  a  sj^eech  on  the 
slavery  question,  which  was  regarded  as  the  ablest  vindi- 
cation of  the  South  that  had  then  appeared  fi-om  any 
quarter.  He  remained  in  Congress  only  three  or  four 
years,  when  he  resigned  liis  seat,  or  declined  a  re-election. 
He  then  made  the  tour  of  Europe  with  liis  family,  and 
^vas  absent  a  year  or  two.     On  his  return  home  he  was  a 


106  James  IT.  Hammond. 

candidate  for  Governor  and  beaten  by  Governor  Rich- 
ardson. His  friends  jtut  him  in  nomination  two  years 
afterwards,  and  he  wa.s  elected  by  a  few  votes  over  Gov. 
Allston,  wlio  was  not  a  candidate,  and  declared  in  the 
Senate  on  the  eve  of  his  election  that  he  did  not  desire 
the  office  at  that  time.  Governor  Hammond  discharged 
all  the  dntics  as  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  State  with  signal 
ability  and  integrity.  I  heard  Col.  Beanfort  Watts  say 
that  he  had  been  private  secretary  of  a  great  many  Gov- 
ernors, but  had  never  seen  one  more  accurate  or  impar- 
tial, or  more  prudent  and  firm.  Whilst  he  filled  the  ex- 
ecutive chair  he  made  war  against  the  bank  of  the  State, 
and  sent  the  Legislature  some  very  able  messages,  urging 
that  the  institution  should  be  wound  up.  Col.  Elmore, 
the  President  of  the  bank,  replied  to  his  argument  in  his 
annual  I'eport  on  the  condition  of  the  bank.  Governor 
Hamond  told  me  that  he  had  spent  weeks  in  the  investi- 
gation of  the  bank  and  making  his  calculations,  which 
were  submitted  to  the  Legislature.  He  said  he  had  de- 
termined to  do  his  duty  boldly  and  faithfully,  and  leave 
the  responsibility  Avith  the  Legislature.  The  State  was 
then  divided  into  tw^o  parties,  Bank  and  Anti-Bank. 
But  the  bank,  with  its  three  or  four  millions  of  capital 
to  lend  out,  proved  too  much  for  the  executive,  and  was 
re-chartered. 

Governor  Hammond  was  also  opposed  to  the  State 
taking  stock  in  all  the  railroads  which  were  chartered  by 
the  Legislature.  He  wrote  several  able  articles  on  this 
subject,  which  were  extensively  circulated.  But  his  op- 
position proved  miavailing,  as  it  had  on  the  bank  ques- 
tion. He  left  the  capital  immediately  after  the  expira- 
tion of  his  term  of  office,  and  he  did  not  return  for  fifteen 
or  twenty  years.  He  w'as  brought  forward  twice  during 
this  time  as  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate,  but 
his  supporters  could  not  prevail  on  him  to  come  to  Co- 
lumbia and  show  himself  to  the  Legislature.  He  seemed 
to  be  disgusted  with  the  State  and  everything  in  it. 


James  H.  Hammond.  107 

AVhen  Judge  Butler  was  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  Governor  Hanunond  was  his  opponent  and  most 
zealously  supported  b}-  his  adherents  through  good  and 
evil  report.  Some  years  afterwards  he  was  again  brought 
forward  by  his  friends  and  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate.  After  the  election  he  came  to  Columbia,  on  his 
way  to  Washington,  with  his  family.  That  was  the  first 
visit  he  had  paid  the  capital  since  the  expiration  of  his 
gubernatorial  term.  I  called  at  the  hotel  to  see  him,  and 
found  him  very  much  changed  in  appearance.  He  was 
no  lono-er  the  handsome  youno;  gentleman  I   had  known 

O  J  CD     CJ  Till 

him  in  former  days.  He  had  grown  stout  and  looked 
old.  I  took  a  very  active  part  against  hun  in  the  Legis- 
lature when  Judge  Butler  was  elected  Senator,  and  I  did 
not  vote  for  him  when  he  was  ultimately  elected.  But 
I  had  a  saspiciou  that  his  friends  had,  in  some  measure, 
mistaken  his  political  views,  and  would  find  themselves 
disappointed  in  his  course  in  the  Senate,  and  I  so  ex- 
pressed myself  publicly.  In  reply  to  these  remarks, 
Governor  Hammond  wrote  a  long  letter  in  which  he  con- 
curred with  me  in  the  views  I  expressed,  and  said  his 
purpose  was  not  factious.  In  a  letter  he  wrote  after- 
wards he  said  his  purpose  was  "  to  keep  South  Carolina 
■^vith  the  South,"  and  that  for  this  pui-jjose  "  he  had  given 
a  good  many  votes  which  he  did  not  altogether  like." 

Whilst  in  the  Senate  Governor  Hammond  made  a 
speech  of  great  ability  on  the  issues  between  the  North 
and  South.  This  speech  attracted  great  attention  North 
as  well  as  South.  His  views  were  those  of  a  statesman 
and  not  a  mere  politician.  I  received  a  letter  from  Judge 
Evans,  who  was  the  colleague  of  Governor  Hammond, 
immediately  after  the  speech  was  delivered,  speaking  in 
very  high  terms  of  the  eftbrt  he  had  made  in  defence  of 
the  Southern  States  and  their  institutions. 

Whilst  in  Europe  Governor  Hammond  made  a  rare 
and  costly  collection  of  paintings  and  statuary,  which  or- 
namented his  house  at  Silver  Bluff,  and  were  greatly  ad- 
niircHl  by  his  friends  and  visitors.     Many  of  them  were 


108  James   H.  Hammond. 

oriiiinals  of  llic  urfulcsl  ai-tists  in  Italy.  lie  also  had  a 
lino  lihraiy,  and  was  a  lover  of"  literature  and  the  fine 
arts.  He  was  a  very  successful  and  scientific  planter.  In 
everything  he  was  practical  and  wise.  Throughout  life 
he  had  a  strong  conviction  that  it  was  the  interest  of  the 
Southern  States  to  sejiarate  from  the  North ;  but  he  was 
too  wise  and  practical  to  encourage  separate  secession  on 
the  part  of  South  Carolina.  His  great  object  was,  as  he 
said  to  me  in  a  letter  already  referred  to,  "to  keep  South 
Carolina  with  the  Southern  States."  He  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  gentlemen  of  Columbia  expressing  the  same  senti- 
ments, which  gave  great  offence. 

Immediately  after  his  election  to  the  Senate  I  received 
from  him  the  following  letter : 

"Red  Cliffs,  31st  Dec,  1857. 

Dear  Sir: — From  the  whole  of  your  remarks  in  the 
Mountaineer  on  the  Senatorial  election,  I  have  come  to 
the  conclusion,  that,  although  you  opposed  my  election, 
you  would  cheerfully  support  me  in  a  course  of  action 
that  would  accord  with  your  views  as  to  what  was  best 
for  the  State  and  the  South, 

"  From  what  I  know  of  you  personally  and  otherwise, 
I  do  not  doubt  that  if  ever  the  time  arrives  that  you  think 
the  South  and  Southern  institutions  (i.  e.,  slavery)  are  en- 
dangered by  Northern  and  anti-slavery  aggression  ac- 
tually and  practically,  you  will  show  yourself  a  thorough 
Southern  man,  'born  to  the  manner.'  I  therefore  ven- 
ture to  write  to  you  (not  for  your  paper,  nor  for  print), 
very  frankly,  in  the  hope  of  eliciting  equal  confidence 
from  you. 

"About  a  month  ago,  at  the  time  of  my  election,  I 
thought  the  South  in  a  more  safe  and  honorable  position 
in  the  Union  and  the  opinion  of  the  world,  than  it  had 
ever  been  in  my  time.  The  United  States  Bank  obso- 
lete, internal  improvements  checked,  free  trade  virtually 
installed,  and  the  whole  tone  of  the  anti-slavery  jiarty 
here  and  abroad  lowered  and  I  thought  changed,  I  did 


James  H,  Hammond.  109 

think  ^vc  were  on  smooth  water,  and  might  safely  and 
honorably  abide  in  the  Union  and  render  freely  and 
cheerfnlly  our  mighty  contribution  to  its  consummation 
as  the  greatest  and  noblest  Empire  the  world  has  ever 
Ivuown.  I  would  gladly  indulge  myself  in  this  opinion  yet, 

"I  was  perhaps  the  most  unfit  man  the  State  could 
have  summoned  to  the  Senate  at  this  time,  for  I  have 
truly  and  entirely  ignored  all  political  affairs  for  many 
years,  in  the  belief  that  I  shoidd  never  be  called  for 
again.  I  trust  you  will  bear  testimony  to  the  fact  that 
I  said  as  much  before  the  Legislature  saw  fit  to  deter- 
mine otherwise,  and  that  my  present  position  is  not  of 
my  seeking,  while  under  the  circumstances  to  refuse  it 
was  impossible. 

"I  do  not  intend  to  decide  on  any  course  for  myself 
until  I  reach  Washington,  which  I  hope  will  be  in  the 
course  of  next  week.  But  from  what  has  occurred  since 
the  opening  of  the  session  of  Congress,  it  does  seem  to 
me,  at  this  distance,  that  it  may  be  that  the  final  and  de- 
cisive crisis  is  close  at  hand,  which  is  to  settle  the  des- 
tiny of  the  slaveholders  of  the  South  forever. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  I  solicit  your  confidential 
opinion  of  affiiirs,  and  beg  that  you  will  confide  in  me  so 
far  as  to  write  to  me  at  Washington  what  you  really 
think  on  each  phase  of  affairs  as  it  comes  up.  Shall  the 
South  make  the  Lecompton  Constitution  an  ultimatum? 
Can  we,  the  slave  States,  honorably  remain  in  the  Union 
if  Kansas  is  refused  admission  because  she  asks  it  as  a 
slave  State?  Do  answer  me  these  questions,  and  make 
whatever  suggestions  may  occur  to  you." 

I  had  occasionally  published  extracts  from  the  very 
interesting  letters  received  from  Judge  Evans,  the  Sena- 
torial colleague  of  Governor  Hammond,  and  it  is  to  this 
that  he  good  humored ly  alludes  in  the  following  letter: 

''WAsHiNfJToN,  Feb.  14,  1858. 
^^  My  Dear  Sir: — I  received  yours  of  the  8th  ult.,  am 
nuich  obliged  to  you  for  your  kindness  and  promptnc.-,-, 


110  James  H.  Hammond. 

and  also  for  tlie  favorahk'  nuiniuT  yon  have  spoken  of 
me  in  yonr  ])a|H'r.  You  know  in  what  a  vortex  peo])le 
live  here,  and  can  iniatj^ine  that,  new  to  everN-fhing,  and 
e.sj)eeially  niy  own  position,  I  have  had  enough  to  do  to 
look  and  listen  and  try  to  learn.  This  is  my  excuse  for 
not  writing  sooner.  Besides,  they  tell  me  that  you  will 
put  in  your  jiaper  what  yonr  friends  write  you.  I  own 
that  this  has  been  a  source  of  nuicli  amusement  to  me, 
but  I  don't  like  to  amuse  others  in  the  same  way;  and, 
not  yet  accustomed  to  write  or  speak  otherwise  than 
straight  forward,  and  as  I  think  I  lack  confidence  in  my 
own^discretion  in  writing  a  private  letter  for  the  public, 
I  might  get  myself  into  great  trouble  by  it.  So,  for  a 
time  at  least,  don't  'trot  me  out'  in  that  way.  On  this 
condition  I  will  give  you  some  ideas  that  I  think  I 
shall  kiy  before  the  Senate  in  a  quiet  way  when  I  get 
the  floor."  He  then  gives  me  pretty  much  the  substance 
of  his  intended  Nebraska-Kansas  speech  and  concludes 
by  saying:  "But  until  after  I  have  made  my  speech 
don't  gut  it  by  letting  this  get  into  the  papers.  This  is 
my  thunder.  I  am  afraid  to  speak  it  to  any  oue  here. 
I  may  change  my  mind  and  not  speak  it  at  all,  but  such 
is  my  present  opinion.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  the  only 
solution  of  the  perverse  conduct  of  men,  and  the  present 
unnatural  state  of  things  here  and  in  Kansas.  I  give  it 
to  you,  at  all  events,  as  a  speculation  for  your  private 
amusement." 

"Washington,  9th  April,  1858. 
My  Dear  Sir: — I  have  frequently  thought  I  would 
write  to  you,  but  there  was  always  something  on  the 
cards  just  ahead  the  result  of  which  I  wished  to  commu- 
nicate, and  therefore  I  deferred  writing.  I  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  this  will  always  be  the  case,  and  there- 
fore, having  a  leisure  moment,  write  now.  The  news- 
papers give  you  a  very  full  account  of  all  that  passes 
here,  and  will  enable  you  to  form  as  good  an  opinion  of 
events  and  their  foreshadoAvings  as  we  can  here,  and  per-! 


James  H.  Hammond.  Ill 

haps  better,  as  you  do  uot  get  all  the  false  rumors  that 
we  do.  The  struggle  here  is  not  for  the  good  of  the 
coimtry,  aud  by  uo  means  for  hiunanity.  Abolition, 
pure  and  simple,  occupies  the  minds  of  few,  and  the 
hearts  of  fewer,  what  is  desired  is  power  and  spoils,  and 
this  is  very  thinly  disguised.  More  than  half  the  men 
in  both  the  Houses  think  they  have  a  chance  for  the 
Presidency,  and  act  accordingly,  utterly  reckless  of  con- 
stitutional rights,  principle,  or  the  country,  *  *  * 
I  know  no  Northern  man  with  any  real  pretensions  to 
statesmanship  save  Sew^ard,  wdio  is  after  all  not  much. 
They  are  all  laAV}^ers,  or  stump  politicians  or  nothing. 
*  *  Tell  me,  when  the  thing  is  disposed  of,  what 
yon  think  ought  to  be  done  by  the  South.  My  view  now 
is  to  keep  South  Carolina  with  the  South,  and  I  give 
many  votes  I  don't  like,  that  we  may  not  be  considered, 
as  we  have  been,  factious." 


ANDREW  P.  BUTLER. 

I  knew  Judge  Butler  iutimately  for  mauy  years,  aud 
liad  a  very  strong  friendship  and  high  regard  for  liini. 
When  he  was  eleeted  to  the  United  States  Senate,  I  took 
a  very  active  part  in  the  canvass  for  him.  The  contest 
between  him  and  Governor  Hammond  was  a  very  close 
one.  In  exerting  my  influence  as  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature to  secm'e  his  election,  I  was  actuated  by  various 
motives.  My  personal  friendship  for  the  judge  was 
perhaps  the  first  and  the  strongest.  I  thought  he  had 
talents  Avhich  would  distinguish  him  in  the  Senate,  and 
that  he  would  there  do  great  honor  to  the  State.  I  liad 
the  greatest  confidence  in  his  patriotism  aud  integrity, 
and  I  did  not  think  his  manners,  habits,  learning  or 
talents,  suited  to  the  bench.  He  was  impetuous  and 
sour  on  the  bench,  'without  knowing  it.  He  was  not 
a  very  learned  or  profound  laA\yer.  In  many  cases 
where  his  judgment  was  at  fault,  he  was  inclined  to 
throw  the  responsibility  of  deciding  the  case  on  the 
jury.  He  was  so  imjwtient  in  the  trial  of  a  case,  and  so 
fond  of  cutting  his  wit  and  making  sport  of  ever}'thing 
that  occurred,  that  a  lawyer  felt  unpleasant  in  trying 
before  him  a  long  and  complicated  case. 

Judge  Butler  was  a  man  of  high  intellect  and  noble 
nature,  just  and  honorable.  He  was  cordial  and  aifec- 
tionate  in  his  disposition,  but  excessively  fond  of  telling 
anecdotes  and  making  sport  of  his  best  fi'iends.  He 
loved  humor  and  fun  dearly.  In  debates,  when  excited, 
he  was  eloquent.  At  other  times,  when  not  warmed  by 
tlic  sul)iect,  or  inspired  by  tlie  occasion,  he  was  dull  and 
invkward.      In  speaking,  he  was  fond  of  making  classi- 


Andrew  P.  Butlee.  113 

cal  allusions,  and  referriug,  for  illustration,  to  the  his- 
tories of  Rome  and  Greece,  which  he  had  studied  well. 

Judge  Butler  was  the  sou  of  General  William  Butler, 
a  gallant  officer  of  the  Revolutionary  army,  and  after- 
wards a  member  of  Congress  for  many  years.  He  Avas 
finally  beaten  for  Congress  by  John  C.  Calhoun.  Judge 
Butler  graduated  at  the  South  Carolina  College,  and, 
after  reading  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  used  to 
tell  an  amusing  story  of  his  going  to  Orangeburg  to  es- 
tablish himself  as  a  lawyer,  immediately  after  his  admis- 
sion to  the  bar.  Whilst  at  the  hotel,  he  told  the  servant 
who  was  attending  to  his  room,  to  bring  something  to 
make  the  fire  burn.  In  a  short  time  the  negro  boy  re- 
turned with  several  small  pieces  of  plank,  which  looked 
very  suspicious  and  strange  to  the  judge.  He  inquired 
of  the  boy  where  he  had  got  this  kindling  for  the  fire. 
With  perfect  innocence  and  frankness,  he  replied :  "  Out 
here  at  the  graveyard."  "  What!"  said  the  judge,  "rob- 
bing the  dead  to  kindle  a  fire?  Take  every  oue  of  those 
pieces  back,  you  rascal,  and  place  them  where  you  got 
them !"  They  were  little  pieces  of  plank,  which  had 
been  put  at  the  head  and  foot  of  graves.  The  judge  con- 
cluded it  was  no  j^lace  for  him  to  settle,  where  they  had 
so  little  reverence  and  respect  for  their  dead.  He  re- 
turned to  Edgefield,  and  there  commenced  his  professional 
career. 

He  was  employed  in  a  case  of  slander  for  the  defence. 
This  was  his  first  case.  The  defendant  came  to  him  and 
told  him  that  the  plaintiff  was  a  mean  fellow,  and  a 
great  rascal,  and  he  wanted  him  severely  handled  in  the 
argument.  The  judge  said  he  accordingly  exhausted  all 
his  powers  of  abuse  on  the  plaintiff,  and  had  no  doubt 
that  he  had  increased  the  verdict  against  his  client  a 
thousand  dollars  by  his  unwarrantable  abuse ;  but  so 
much  pleased  was  the  defendant  by  his  speech,  that  he 
took  the  judge  to  a  jeweler's  shop  and  made  him  a 
present  of  a  gold  watch  as  a  fee  in  the  case. 


114  Andrew  P.  Butler. 

In  the  Jjogislatiire,  tlio  jiulgo  s])()ke  very  often  without 
preparation,  and  on  one  oecasion,  was  not  altogether 
accurate  in  liis  (][uotation  of  one  of  the  Ten  Command- 
ments. Tlierenpon,  old  Sam  Dickson,  a  member  from 
Pendleton,  Avho  was  a  great  wag,  and  always  drunk, 
undertook  to  correct  him  in  his  quotation,  and  said  as 
his  young  friend  did  not  seem  to  be  familiar  with  the 
Commandments,  he  would  repeat  them  for  his  benefit. 
The  galleries  were  filled  Avitli  ladies.  The  old  member 
went  on  repeating  them  with  great  emphasis  and  long 
pauses,  till  he  came  to  the  stventh;  after  repeating  it,  he 
stopped,  and  remarked  that  he  hoped  his  young  friend 
w^oiild  never  forget  that  one. 

In  repartee,  the  jndge  was  always  happy  and  severe. 
On  one  occasion,  in  the  trial  of  a  case  at  Anderson,  Peter 
Vaudiver,  a  young  lawyer,  said  to  the  judge  that  he 
differed  witli  him  in  opinion  as  to  the  admissibility  of 
the  proposed  testimony.  The  judge  replied,  that  might 
be,  but  that  his  opinion  in  the  ruling  was  worth  some- 
thing and  Mr.  Vaudiver's  was  not.  I  witnessed  a  pas- 
sage at  arms,  once,  between  the  judge,  who  lived  at  Edge- 
field, and  the  Hon.  A.  Burt,  who  resided  at  Abbeville, 
in  reference  to  the  comparative  morals  and  temperance 
of  the  two  districts.  The  judge  said  he  had  seen  more 
drunkenness  at  the  last  court  at  Abbeville  than  he  ever 
saw  at  Edgefield.  "  But  there  was  this  difference,"  said 
Mr.  Burt;  "at  Edgefield  you  see  gentlemen  drunk, 
which  you  never  see  at  Abbeville."  The  judge  replied 
that  he  did  not  know  there  were  any  gentlemen  at  Abbe- 
ville to  get  drunk. 

In  a  very  short  time  after  Judge  Butler  took  his  seat 
in  the  United  States  Senate,  he  gave  that  body  a  speci- 
men of  his  wit  and  humor,  at  the  expense  of  a  Senator 
from  Tennessee,  which  convulsed  the  gravity  and  dignity 
of  the  Senators  very  much.  The  member  had  made 
some  assaults  on  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  the  judge  replied 
with  a  comparison  of  the  Senator  most  supremely  ridicu- 
lous, but  which  I  cannot  now  undertake  to  repeat.     The 


Andrew  P.  Butler.  115 

judge  very  soon  took  a  high  position  in  the  Senate  as  a 
public  speaker,  and  was  greatly  esteemed  by  his  compeers 
in  that  body,  then  illustrious  for  its  talent,  eloquence 
and  patriotism. 

The  social  qualities  of  Judge  Butler  were  very  extra- 
ordinary, and  as  a  boon  companion  he  could  not  be  sur- 
passed. He  always  kept  the  company  merry  and 
amused  at  his  wit  and  humor,  pleasant  stories  and 
laughable  anecdotes.  He  had  a  great  many  warm,  per- 
sonal friends,  who  always  supported  him,  though  differing 
with  him  in  politics.  He  was  a  Whig,  when  elected  to 
the  Senate  by  a  Legislature  entirely  Democratic.  Judge 
Butler,  though  a  nullifier  in  1832,  was  opposed  to  se- 
cession in  1850,  and  took  the  stump  in  favor  of  co- 
operation, which  was,  in  fact,  a  Union  party  in  disguise, 
for  there  was  no  hojje  of  the  other  States  co-operating  at 
that  time  in  any  movement  against  the  Union. 


JOSIAH  J.  EVANS. 

Forty-live  years  ago,  my  acquaiutaucc  ANith  Judge 
Evans  commenced.  I  was  an  applicant  for  admission  to 
the  bar,  and  he  was  one  of  the  examining  committee, 
together  with  Cliancellor  Harper  and  Governor  INIiller. 
They  Avere  all  then  practicing  lawyers,  l)nt  immediately 
afterwards  transferred  to  high  j)osts  of  honor.  It  was 
not  customaiy  in  those  days  for  the  applicant  to  be  pi-e- 
viously  examined  by  the  conunittee,  or  have  the  slightest 
intimation  as  to  the  qnestions  to  be  proponnde<l.  But 
the  manner  of  Judge  Evans  in  conducting  the  examina- 
tion, was  so  kind  and  gentle,  so  courteous  and  instructive, 
that  he  completely  won  our  hearts.  The  students  in- 
vited him  and  other  members  of  the  committee  to  a 
sumptuous  dinner,  that  evening,  at  the  United  States 
Hotel.  They  accejited  the  invitation  and  we  had  a  most 
jileasant,  agreeable  and  joyous  party.  In  the  course  of 
conversation,  one  of  the  students  remarked  to  the  judge, 
that  from  his  manner  of  propounding  the  questions,  the 
class  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  must  have  been, 
at  some  period  of  his  life,  a  school-master.  He  replied 
that  our  conclusion  was  correct,  for  he  had  once  taught 
school,  but  A\as  not  aware  that  the  pedagogue  was  so 
visible  in  his  manner  as  to  show  itself  in  the  presence  of 
their  Honors,  Judges  Nott,  Johnson  and  I'olcock,  who 
then  composed  the  Court  of  Appeals. 

At  that  time.  Judge  Evans  was  Solicitor  of  the  Eastern 
Circuit,  an  office  whicli  he  had  filled  for  many  years  with 
great  ability ;  and  together  with  Governor  Miller,  stood 
pre-eminent  as  a  laAvyer  in  that  section  of  the  State.  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  him  once  only  in  the  Court 


JosiAH  J.  Evans.  117 

of  Appeals  before  his  election,  to  the  bench.  He  argued 
his  case  with  great  learning  and  ability,  and  spoke  with 
great  animation.  He  felt  the  truth  of  the  positions  he 
took  in  his  argument ;  but  there  was  no  effort  at  dis- 
play, no  rhetorical  flourishes.  Every  word  told  and 
was  to  the  point.  His  language  was  chaste  and  beauti- 
ful. I  remember  his  style  of  speaking  reminded  me,  at 
the  time,  of  mv  revered  preceptor  in  the  law.  Judge 
Earle. 

Judge  Evans  was  the  model  of  a  Circuit  judge.  He 
never  had  a  superior  in  South  Carolina.  His  mind  and 
his  character  were  judiciak  He  thought  as  a  judge, 
he  spoke  as  a  judge,  and  acted  as  a  judge.  On  the 
bench  I  knew  him  well,  practiced  before  him  long,  and 
had  the  honor  of  his  confidence  and  intimacy.  In  a 
letter  now  before  me  he  says :  "  Up  to  the  last  moment 
when  it  was  practicable,  it  was  my  intention  to  have 
gone  to  Columbia,  but  I  had  so  many  things  to  do, 
preparatory  to  such  a  long  absence,  that  I  had  finally  to 
give  it  up.  Nothing  could  have  gratified  me  more  than 
to  see  (as  I  would  have  done  there)  so  many  dear  friends, 
and  among  the  rest,  none  more  valued  than  yourself." 
He  was  well  read  and  learned  in  his  profession.  His 
mind  and  memory  were  strongly  imbued  with  the  great 
]H-ineiples  of  the  common  law,  and  he  was  particularly 
familar  with  all  our  legislative  enactments  and  the  de- 
cisions of  our  courts.  He  Avas  endov^ed  by  nature  with 
a  clear  head,  a  well-balanced  mind,  and  an  unerring 
judgment.  He  was  always  cool,  calm  and  dispassionate, 
and  never  at  fault  on  the  bench.  He  never  took  sides 
in  any  case,  as  a  judge,  but  always  weighed  the  testimony 
carefully,  and  submitted  it  most  impartially  to  the  jury. 
They  could  see  him  holding  the  scales  of  justice  with  a 
firm,  steady  hand,  and  balancing  the  beam  with  a  firm- 
ness and  impartiality  M'hich  showed  him  far  above  the 
shadow  of  passion  or  prejudice.  In  his  charges  on  the 
law,  he  was  plain,  jMJsitive,  direct  and  decided.  Dis- 
honest cunning  in  a  p(jlitician  very  often  avoids  responsi- 


118  JosiAH  J.  Evans. 

hility,  ami  sonu'tinics  honest  ioiioniiicc  in  a  judge  induces 
the  same  course.  Judge  Kvans  never  felt  this  virtuous 
necessity.  He  was  a  most  })atient  judge,  a  great  virtue 
in  a  judge,  next  to  those  of  honesty  and  learning.  He 
was  always  kind  and  courteous  to  the  bar,  and  yet  no 
judge  ever  had  more  dignity  of  manner,  commanded 
more  respect  in  court,  or  dispatched  more  promptly  the 
business  of  the  court.  The  prince  of  practical  wisdom 
and  good  sense  was  Judge  Evans  on  the  bench  and  oft' 
the  bench.  He  had  no  vanity  to  hear  himself  talk  to 
the  bar  and  the  jury,  and  always  knowing  just  what  was 
necessary  to  be  said,  so  much  he  said  and  no  more.  His 
rulings  of  points  made  during  the  progress  of  a  case, 
were  decisions,  not  dissertations.  In  fifteen  minutes  he 
would  present  the  Avhole  case  to  the  jury,  more  easily 
comprehended  than  if  he  had  charged  them  two  hours. 
Whilst  engaged  in  a  celebrated  case  in  Washington, 
which  occupied  the  District  Court  five  or  six  weeks, 
Judge  Evans  said  to  me,  "I  lay  a  wager  that  I  can  try 
your  case  with  a  South  Carolina  jury  and  bar  in  three 
days." 

In  the  Appeal  Court,  I  cannot  speak  of  Judge  Evans 
in  the  consultation  room ;  but  I  feel  well  assured  that  his 
brethren  will  award  him  there,  as  the  bar  have  done  on 
the  Circuit,  the  highest  honors.  I  knew  liini  only  in  the 
Appeal  Court  through  the  opinions  he  delivered,  and 
which  are  reported  in  our  decisions  of  cases.  His 
style  of  writing  was  eminently  judicial,  close,  concise  and 
neat.  He  made  no  unnecessar}^  display  of  learning  in  his 
opinions.  He  decided  the  points  of  the  case  without  any 
dissertation  on  general  principles  or  collateral  issues  not 
involved  in  the  case. 

As  a  companion,  Judge  Evans  was  always  social, 
pleasant  and  agreeable.  He  possessed  great  good  humor 
and  cheerfiilness  of  disposition.  I  do  not  remember  ever 
to  have  seen  him  depressed,  sad  or  melancholy.  He  en- 
joyed an  anecdote  or  witticism,  and  would  laugh  most 
heartily  over  a  good  joke.     He  always  conversed  well, 


JosTAH  J.  Evans. 

and  made  Inniself  interesting  to  his  friends.  He  gave 
them  information  witliout  lectures,  and  never  tried  to  im- 
press the  company  with  his  superiority.  He  desired  no 
monopoly  in  the  conversation,  but  talked  and  listened  as 
seemed  most  agreeable  to  those  present.  He  had  a  warm 
heart  and  loved  his  friends,  but  hated  no  one.  He  ab- 
horred vice  and  despised  vicious  habits,  wherever  and 
whenever  he  met  them. 

Judge  Evans  was  a  graduate  of  the  South  Carolina 
College,  and  'when  admitted  to  the  bar,  his  whole  patri- 
mony had  been  exhausted  in  his  education,  save  one  body 
servant.  But  he  died  possessed  of  a  very  large  fortune 
in  lands  and  negroes,  which  he  had  made  by  his  pro- 
fession and  planting.  He  never  speculated,  and  had  the 
greatest  contempt  for  money-lenders  and  usurers.  He 
thought  the  practice  begat  an  insensibility  to  human 
suffering,  and  robbed  the  heart  of  all  the  finer  and  nobler 
sensibilities  of  our  nature.  He  was  an  excellent  planter, 
systematic,  prudent  and  successful.  He  was  kind  to  his 
slaves,  administered  to  their  comforts,  and  made  them 
happy.  In  return,  they  were  loyal,  obedient  and  faithful, 
and  loved  him  as  a  master. 

Whilst  Judge  Evans  was  a  \vise  statesman  and  a  pure 
patriot,  he  was  no  politician,  and  had  no  relish  for  poli- 
tics. Once  only  he  consented  to  serve  in  the  Legislature, 
and  that  was  jiLst  as  he  was  starting  in  life.  He  had 
been  brought  up  in  the  States'  Rights  school  of  politics, 
under  the  lead  of  Governor  Williams  and  Judge  Smith, 
of  South  Carolina,  and  Wm.  H.  Crawford  of  Georgia. 
This  threw  him  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Calhoun  and  his 
school  of  national  politics.  When  the  nullification  con- 
troversy sprang  up  in  South  Carolina,  Judge  Evans  was 
on  the  bench.  I  remember  a  long  and  interesting  con- 
versation Avith  him  at  that  time  on  that  subject.  He 
then  had  his  misgivings  and  doubts  as  to  the  propriety 
and  constitutionality  of  nullification.  He  said,  ho^vever, 
that  he  should  advise  his  friends  to  go  for  a  Convention 
of  the  State,  as  it  was  an  onward  step  in  our  resistance 


120  JosiAH  J.  Evans. 

to  an  unjust  and  a^f»;rossivo  tariff".  It  was  not  in  his  na- 
ture to  he  a  partisan  ;  he  Avas  essentially  conservative  in 
all  thintijs.  He  frequently  said  to  nie,  in  his  letters  and 
conversation,  that  lie  feared  he  was  too  much  of  an 
old  fogy  for  the  times.  He  never  was  a  disunionist  at 
heart,  and  always  looked  forward  to  that  possible  event, 
as  one  of  the  greatest  calamities  which  could  befall  our 
country.  In  a  letter  to  me,  dated  AVashington,  April  14, 
1854,  he  says:  "I  love  the  Union,  and  hope  it  will  be 
perpetual ;  but  at  the  samfe  time,  I  love  our  little  State, 
as  I  knoA\^  you  do,  and  will  stand  by  its  rights  when  in- 
vaded, with  my  last  breath.  We  have,  indeed,  been 
rather  too  belligerent  at  times,  but  I  do  not  think  we 
have  lost  much  of  national  feeling,  and  I  am  sure  we 
have  lost  nothing  of  national  character."  Again,  lie 
writes  me,  Washington,  December  16,  1855  :  "I  have 
heard  more  doubts  about  the  stability  of  the  Union  ex- 
pressed, since  I  have  been  here,  than  ever  before  from  all 
quarters.  I  am  not  a  despairing  man,  and  still  hope  we 
may  be  saved.  The  Democratic  party  are  true  to  the 
Constitution,  and  there  is  hope  they  will  triumph.  Four 
or  five  Whig  members  of  the  Senate  w^ill,  hereafter,  co- 
operate with  us  in  the  effort  to  save  the  Union,  by  up- 
holding the  constitutional  rights  of  every  section  of  the 
Union."  In  1851,  Judge  Evans  opposed  the  secession 
movement,  and  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Con- 
vention. In  that  Convention  he  made  a  hap])y  speech, 
which  was  well  received,  and  has  been  recently  compli- 
mented and  referred  to. 

In  1852,  Judge  Evans  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  I  had  the  honor  of  first  sup-p-esting  his 
name  publicly.  It  was  against  his  wishes,  and  with 
great  reluctance  he  consented  to  serve.  He  said  to  me 
most  positively,  "  I  will  not  be  a  candidate."  I  replied, 
^ve  do  not  wish  you  to  be  a  candidate,  but  only  say  you 
will  serve  if  elected.  Before  the  election  came  on,  I 
called  to  see  him  in  Columbia,  and  told  him  I  had  one 
more  request  to  make,  and  that  Avas  not  to  s})eak  of  the 


JosiAH  J.  Evans.  121 

election.  He  then  expressed  a  desire  to  see  Colonel 
Chestnnt  elected,  who  was  in  the  field  as  a  candidate, 
with  Colonel  Pickens,  Colonel  Preston,  and,  I  think, 
Mr.  Rhett.  After  several  ballotings  had  taken  place, 
the  friends  of  the  other  candidates,  or  some  of  them  at 
least,  went  to  Jndge  Evans,  to  know  his  wishes.  He 
replied  that  he  had  left  the  whole  matter  in  my  hands, 
and  had  nothing  to  say  about  it. 

When  Jndge  Evans  first  took  his  seat  in  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  on  the  4th  day  of  March,  1853,  I 
was  in  the  City  of  Washington,  and  know  that  he  made, 
during  that  short  extra  sitting  of  the  Senate,  a  most 
favorable  impression  on  his  compeers  and  brother  Sena- 
tors. He  seemed  better  pleased  with  his  new  position 
than  he  had  anticipated.  The  day  after  his  arrival  a 
little  incident  occurred  whicli  pleased  him.  He  received 
a  note  from  the  wife  of  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Wash- 
ington, stating  that  she  had  just  ascertained  that  the 
newly-elected  Senator  from  South  Carolina  was  her  old 
schoolmate  and  friend,  Josiah  J.  Evans,  whom  she  had 
not  seen  for  forty-five  years.  She  and  her  husband  united 
in  asking  the  pleasure  of  his  company  at  dinner  with 
them  the  next  day.  In  the  Senate,  Judge  Evans  did  not 
aspire  to  be  a  leader  in  debate.  He  said  to  me  in  a 
letter,  during  the  Kansas  discussion  of  1854:  "Our 
members  have  borne  themselves  gallantly  on  the  Ne- 
braska bill.  Butler's  speech  was  among  the  best,  and 
Brooks  and  Keitt  have  both  made  excellent  speeches.  I 
was  strongly  tempted  to  say  something,  but  I  could  add 
nothing  to  the  argument,  and  I  am  too  old  to  make  a 
speech  for  Buncombe.  If  I  can  be  of  any  use  here,  it 
will  be  by  a  patient  investigation  of  the  matters  that  come 
before  Congress,  and  to  present  the  results  more  in  a  ju- 
dicial than  a  forensic  style,  as  I  have  lately  done  on  a 
bill  Avhicli  I  had  presented  from  the  Committee  on  Revo- 
lutionaiy  Claims,  for  the  final  adjustment  of  the  claims 
of  the  officers  of  the  Revolution.  In  this  way  I  hope  to 
acquire  some  influence  and  to  be  of  use  to  my  country 


122  JosiAii   J    Evans. 

for  till'  fl'W  yoars  that  arc  left  luc  of  life."  Judge  Evans 
dill  ae([iiire,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  esteem  and  resjject 
of  the  Senate.  Even  his  bitter  political  opponents  had 
the  highest  regard  for  him  as  a  man  and  a  Senator.  This 
■\vas  manifested  in  the  Senate.  He  was,  indeal,  as  one 
of  the  Republicans  said,  worthy  of  being  a  lloman  Sena- 
tor, for  he  possessed  all  the  high  virtues  of  a  Roman — 
firmness,  patriotism  and  incorruptible  integrity. 

His  speech  in  reply  to  Sunmer,  and  in  vindication  of 
South  C'arolina  and  her  history  and  institutions,  is  a  noble 
production,  worthy  of  the  best  days  of  Rome  and  her 
most  finished  orators.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that 
for  style,  temper,  matter,  and  artistic  finish,  it  is  the  best 
speech  ever  made  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  on 
the  slavery  question.  Immediately  after  lie  delivered  it, 
he  wrote  me  that  he  had  not  used  one-half  of  the  mate- 
rial which  he  prepared  for  the  occasion,  but  that  he  was 
two  hours  on  his  feet — longer  than  he  had  ever  been 
since  he  had  left  the  bar — and  Avas  completely  exhausted. 
I  have  understood  that  this  speech  was  more  generally 
circulated  at  the  North,  and  did  the  South  more  good, 
than  any  speech  which  ever  came  from  a  Southern 
Senator.  It  was  the  speech  of  an  orator,  statesman  and 
patriot. 

In  January  1857,  Judge  Evans  wrote  me  freely  and 
confidentially  on  the  Kansas  question.  He  said  :  "  I  am 
heartily  sick  of  the  subject,  and  care  not  if  Kansas  were 
sunk  in  the  bottomless  ocean.  In  fighting  for  the  Le- 
compton  Constitution  we  are  fighting  for  a  shadow,  so  far 
as  any  ultimate  good  can  come  to  the  South  ;  but  we  are 
contending  for  a  principle  of  vital  importance.  I  have 
long  since  given  up  all  hopes  of  Kansas  becoming  a  slave 
State."  The  last  letter  I  received  from  him  was  dated 
the  third  day  of  March,  1858,  and  in  that  letter  he  said 
he  thanked  God  that  that  day  twelve  mouths  would  be 
his  last  day  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  He  died 
in  Washington  before  that  wished-for  day  arrived. 


JosiAH  J.  Evans.  128 

Judge  Evans  continued  to  feel,  after  lie  was  elected  to 
the  Senate  and  had  to  resign  his  seat  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  a  deep  interest  in  the  Soutli  Carolina 
College.  In  his  letters  to  me,  he  frequently  spoke  of  his 
Alma  Mater,  and  inquired  how  the  College  was  going  on. 
He  had  a  great  horror  of  a  public  debt,  and  thought  we 
were  pushing  too  far  our  railroad  system.  He  doubted 
the  policy  and  practicability  of  some  of  our  projects.  He 
repudiated  Walker  and  the  whole  system  of  filibustering, 
as  contrary  to  national  honor  and  faith,  as  well  as  private 
honesty. 

There  were  few  men  whom  I  ever  saAV  on  whose  judg- 
ment I  could  sooner  rely  than  that  of  Judge  Evans.  The 
State  suifered  a  great  loss  in  his  death,  and  one  which 
she  felt  most  sensibly.  He  was  a  man  of  judgment  and 
wisdom,  firmness  and  honesty  ;  and  such  men  are  always 
to  be  preferred  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  to  the  man 
of  genius,  whose  life  too  often  is  nothing  but  a  halo  of 
errors,  destructive  to  the  best  interests  of  his  country. 


ROBERT  W.  BARNWELL. 

I  luive  seen  in  my  duy  and  time  a  number  of  great 
men,  l)ut  I  never  knew  a  more  perfect  one  than  Robert 
AV^.  HarnwelL  In  liis  early  manhood  he  was  extremely 
handsome.  His  features  were  rooular  and  his  face  most 
attractive.  His  head  large  and  well  formed  with  abroad 
and  expansive  forehead.  His  eyes,Avhen  animated,  very 
brilliant,  and  his  countenance  indicated  the  kindness  and 
goodness  of  his  nature.  In  his  person  he  was  well  pro- 
portioned, rather  above  the  ordinary  height  and  graceful 
in  his  movements.  He  was  rather  slender,  but  had  the 
a])pearance  of  health  and  strength.  No  one  could  see 
him  without  being  struck  with  his  fine  appearance  and 
manly  form.  I  first  saw  him  sitting  in  the  Judiciary 
Committee  room  in  1826.  It  was  in  the  night  and 
seated  with  him  were  all  the  members  of  the  conunittee, 
Col.  James  Gregg,  Judge  Butler,  Judge  AVardlaw  and 
others.  My  attention  was  attracted  to  him  by  his  noble 
and  intellectual  face,  and  I  inquired  who  he  was.  I  was 
told  that  he  was  a  young  member  from  Beaufort,  who 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  with  the  first  honors  of 
his  class.  He  was  most  tastefully  dressed,  and  I  said 
his  appearance  reminded  me  of  my  idea  of  a  young 
]^]nglish  nobleman.  At  that  time  I  was  reading  laAV  in 
Col.  Gregg's  office  in  Columbia. 

-I  • 

Mr.  Barnwell's  manners  equaled  his  personal  appear- 
ance. They  were  kind,  cordial  and  high  bred,  though 
modest  and  unassuming.  You  might  be  attached  to  him 
by  his  handsome  face  and  beaming  countenance,  as  I 
was;  but  his  manly  frankness,  cordiality  and  polished, 
graceful  manners,  attached  you  to  him.     He  was,  indeed, 


Robert  W.  Barnwell.  125 

a  born  gentleman,  and  all  his  instincts  and  impulses 
were  honorable  and  patriotic.  He  was  as  pure  a  man 
and  as  high-toned  a  gentleman  as  ever  breathed  the 
breath  of  life.  The  Chevalier  Bayard  was  not  more  en- 
titled to  the  soubriquet  given  him  than  was  Mr.  Barn- 
well. But  he  was  something  more  than  a  pure  and  hon- 
orable man.  He  was  a  most  devoted  and  pious  Chris- 
tian from  early  manhood  to  his  death  in  old  age.  His 
purity  and  piety  were  equaled  by  his  patriotism,  which 
was  ardent  and  catholic.  His  love  and  devotion  to  his 
native  State  was  equal  to  that  of  any  of  her  sons,  and  at 
the  same  time  his  heart  was  large  enough  to  embrace  his 
whole  country.  There  was  nothing  narrow,  contracted 
or  selfish  about  his  nature.  His  heart  was  as  broad  and 
as  generous  as  his  intellect  was  high  and  towering. 

Mr.  Barnwell  was  not  only  a  man  of  talents  of  a  very 
high  order,  but  he  was  a  learned  and  accomplished 
scholar.  Whilst  a  very  young  man  he  was  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  South  Carolina  College,  and  that  noble  State 
institution  was  at  no  period  of  its  existence  in  a  more 
flourishing  condition  than  it  was  under  his  administra- 
tion. He  doubled  the  number  of  its  students  and  at> 
tracted  to  it  young  men  from  all  the  Southern  States. 
At  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  Presidency  of  the  Col- 
lege he  Mas  a  memlier  of  Congress,  elected  from  the 
Beaufort  District,  Avithout  opposition.  Immediately 
after  his  graduation  at  Harvard,  he  read  law  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  Within  a  very  short  time  after  his 
admission  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
and  it  was  then  that  I  first  saw^  him.  In  the  Legisla- 
ture he  had  a  very  high  character  for  talents,  learning 
and  patriotism,  but  his  modesty  prevented  his  taking 
a  very  active  part  in  the  discussions  of  the  House. 
He  said  he  did  not  think  it  becoming  in  a  young  mem- 
ber to  thrust  himself  forward  and  attempt  to  lead  the 
House  where  there  were  so  many  older  members. 

Mr.  Barnwell  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress  after 
he  had  served  two  sessions  in  the  State  Legislature.     I 


126  Robert  W.  Barnwell. 

think  he  had  sorvcHl  only  two  s&s^iions  of  Congress  when 
lie  was  elected  l*rcsident  of  the  college.  After  serving 
several  years  in  that  high  position  he  resigned  and  retired 
to  his  ])lnntation  in  Beanfort.  He  was  then  elected  to 
the  United  States  Senate  where  he  made  several  spea-hes 
which  gave  him  a  national  reputation.  He  declined  a 
re-election  to  the  United  States  Senate  and  returned  once 
Dtiore  to  private  life. 

When  the  secession  movement  took  place  in  South 
Carolina,  he  did  not  favor  separate  State  action.  I  re- 
member he  made  a  speech,  which  gave  great  offence  to 
some  of  his  Bluffton  friends.  But  he  went  cheerfully  and 
heartily  with  his  State  Avhen  shfe  did  secede,  and  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  Southern  Convention  which  as- 
sembled at  ]\Iontgomery,  and  when  the  Confederate  Gov- 
ernment was  organized  he  was  offered  the  appointment 
of  Secretary  of  State  by  President  Davis,  which  he  de- 
clined, and  recommended  Col.  Memminger  as  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  who  was  appointed.  He  was  then 
elected  a  Confederate  Senator,  and  served  in  that  position 
till  the  close  of  the  Avar  and  the  downfall  of  the  Con- 
federacy. 

ISIr.  Barnwell  was  a  large  slaveholder  and  a  wealthy 
man  before  the  war,  but  the  emancipation  of  his  slaves 
rendered  his  lands  of  little  value  and  reduced  him  to 
poverty.  He  was  at  this  time  residing  in  Greenville, 
and  he  consulted  me  about  his  opening  a  school  some- 
where in  the  upper  country  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 
support  for  himself  and  family.  I  was  at  the  time  a 
trustee  of  the  South  Carolina  College,  and  said  to  him 
that  I  thought  he  could  be  elected  President  of  the  col- 
lege, if  he  would  accept  the  position,  and  I  immediately 
wrote  to  the  trustees  and  he  was  elected.  ISIr.  Barnwell 
had  taken  an  active  part,  whilst  in  the  Confederate  Sen- 
ate, in  having  me  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  to 
assess  the  value  of  property  taken  for  the  use  of  the  army, 
and  then  in  procuring  from  President  Davis  my  appoint- 
ment as  District  Judge.     And    I  was  much  gratified  in 


Robert  W.  Barnwell,  127 

having  au  opportunity  of  returning  his  kindness  by  be- 
stowing on  him  an  office  which  he  was  so  eminently 
qualified  to  fill. 

Mr.  Barnwell  continued  at  the  head  of  this  institution 
till  he  was  removed  by  the  infamous  board  of  trustees 
elected  by  the  negro  and  cai-jiet-bag  Legislature.  He 
then  opened  a  school  with  his  daughters,  in  Columbia, 
for  the  purpose  of  educating  young  ladies. 

I  never  went  to  Columbia  without  calling  to  see  him. 
I  remember  as  I  was  going  on  to  the  Philadelphia  Con- 
vention, in  1866,  asking  his  advice  as  to  the  course  the 
Southern  members  should  pursue  in  that  convention.  He 
said  we  ought  not  to  make  ourselves  prominent,  but  let 
the  Northern  and  Western  delegates  shape  the  action  of 
the  convention.  He  gave  me  the  same  counsel  as  I  was 
going  to  the  New  York  Convention,  a  year  or  two  after- 
wards, when  Governor  Seyniour  was  nominated  for  the 
Presidency. 

In  one  of  my  last  consultations  with  Mr.  Barnwell,  he 
spoke  most  feelingly  of  the  degradation  of  the  State.  He 
said  there  was  no  instance  in  all  history  where  a  civilized 
people  had  been  treated  so  meanly  by  their  government. 
He  said  the  legislation  of  the  Republican  party  had  been 
with  a  view  to  the  amalgamation  of  the  two  races  in  the 
Southern  States.  Their  purpose  was  to  degrade  the  peo- 
ple by  having  a  mongrel  race.  He  said  the  vanity  and 
self-importance  of  the  negro  was  amusing.  You  might 
kick  him  and  cuif  him  about,  and  he  would  still  think 
himself  a  better  man  than  you  were. 

Mr.  Barnwell  was  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word  an  or- 
ator. He  felt,  in  all  his  public  speeches,  the  truth  of 
every  word  he  uttered,  and  his  earnestness  and  ardor 
made  you  feel  the  same.  He  always  spoke  with  great 
animation.  His  eloquence  was  an  inheritance.  His 
father  ^vas  a  member  of  Congress  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  in  which  he  had  taken  an  active  and 
conspicuous  part,  and  was  distinguished  for  his  eloquence. 
Had  Mr.  Barnwell  been  ambitious  or  selfish  he  mipht 


128  Robert  W.  Barnwell. 

liavc  lu'cn  nuicli  iiiorc  distiiiiiuislicd.  But  liis  only  am- 
hitioii  was  to  (lis<'liai'i2;('  liis  <liity  conscientiously  in  every 
position  he  filled.  He  never  sought  honors  or  position. 
They  Merc  ahvays  thrust  on  him  by  those  Avho  knew  and 
a])])rc<'iated  his  wortli  and  wisdom.  He  "was  one  of  the 
last  of  the  old  Carolina  <;entlcincn, and  if  not  "the  noblest 
Eonian  of  them  all,"  he  was  in  all  the  highest  (pialities 
of  head  and  heart,  the  equal  of  any  one  of  them. 


ROBERT  BARNWELL  RHETT. 

I  saw  Mr.  Rhett  for  the  first  time  in  1826,  whilst  I 
was  reading  law  in  Col.  James  Gregg's  office,  in  Colum- 
bia. He  was  then  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
elected  for  the  first  time  from  Beaufort.  His  cousin, 
Robert  W.  Barnwell,  afterwards  President  of  the  South 
Carolina  College,  and  United  States  Senator,  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  from  Beaufort.  I  noticed 
that  they  were  very  much  together  and  seemed  very  inti- 
mate, and  this  cordial  intimacy  continued  throughout  the 
life  of  Mr.  Rhett.  His  name  was  then  Smith,  which  was 
so  common  a  name  that  he  and  all  his  family,  except  his 
unmarried  sister,  changed  it  to  Rhett,  which  had  been  a 
family  name  of  their  maternal  ancestors,  in  the  early  set- 
tlement of  South  Carolina,  and  was  then  extinct  in  the  State. 

Mr.  Rhett  was  then  regarded  as  a  very  brilliant  and. 
promising  young  man.  He  spoke  very  often  in  the  Leg- 
islature, and  always  spoke  with  great  fervor  and  animation. 

I  was  present  in  the  Legislature  when  Mr.  Robert 
Barnwell  Rhett,  then  Smith,  had  a  difficulty  with  Judge 
Huger,  in  1828.  They  were  both  members  of  the  House. 
Judge  Huger  had  resigned  his  seat  on  the  bench  to  go 
into  the  Legislature  from  Charleston,  for  the  purpose  of 
checking  the  spirit  of  nullification  and  disunion,  which 
was  then  prevalent  all  over  the  State.  Mr.  Rhett  and  all 
the  nullifiers  in  the  House  were  trying  to  evade  a  direct 
vote  on  the  question  of  nullification.  They  called  them- 
selves "States'  Rights  men,"  and  were  not  at  that  time 
prepared  to  be  dubbed  "Nullifiers."  Judge  Huger 
launted  them  \vith  an  effort  to  evade  the  proper  issue. 
Mr.   Rhett   replied  with   great    indignation   and  scorn. 


130  Robert  Barnwell  Rhett. 

Pointin*;  his  finder  at  Judge  Huger,  lie  .said  he  despised 
the  man  wlio  Avas  trying  to  make  a  bugaboo  of  nullifica- 
tion for  the  puqjose  of  soaring  the  people  of  the  State  ! 
Judge  Huger  replied  very  coolly  to  Mr.  Rhett's  argu- 
ment, and  concluded  by  saying  that  he  had  too  much  re- 
spect for  the  House  to  intrude  iu  personalities  before 
them.  He  sat  down  and  wrote  a  challenge,  and  sent  for 
his  cousin,  Alfred  Huger,  who  was  then  a  member  of  the 
Senate,  to  deliver  it  to  ]Mr.  Rhett.  The  affair  was  ad- 
justed that  night  by  mutual  friends,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing Mr.  Rhett  came  into  the  House  and  made  the 
amende  honorable.  He  said  that  he  had  always  enter- 
tained the  highest  regard  for  the  member  from  St.  Philips 
and  St.  Michael,  and  what  he  had  said  had  been  uttered 
in  the  heat  of  passion,  etc.  That  he  knew  the  gentleman 
to  be  honorable  and  brave  amongst  the  bravest. 

Mr.  Rhett  was  for  some  years  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee of  Ways  and  Means  in  the  House,  and  one  of  the 
most  efficient  and  active  members  of  the  Legislature.  At 
that  time  it  was  a  very  able  body,  and  had  as  its  mem- 
bers, Chancellor  Harper,  Chancellor  Dunkiu,  Judge 
Wardlaw,  Judge  Butler,  Colonel  Gregg,  Judge  Glover, 
Judge  "Wiiitner,  Colonel  Pickens,  Judge  Frost,  General 
Thompson,  and  many  other  distinguished  members  of  the 
House.  In  the  Senate  were  Judge  Smith,  Governor  Wil- 
liams, Governor  Miller,  Thomas  Grimke,  Governor 
Wilson,  etc. 

After  serving  in  the  Legislature  a  number  of  years,  he 
was  elected  Attorney-General  of  the  State  and  then  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Beaufort.  "SATiilst  a  candidate 
for  Congrass,  he  changed  his  name.  When  it  was  an- 
nounced that  Robert  B.  Rhett  was  elected,  the  Northern 
papers  stated  that  no  such  person  had  been  a  candidate 
for  Congress  in  South  Carolina,  and  that  there  must  be 
some  mistake  in  the  name.  Shortly  after  his  election, 
Mr,  Rhett  came  to  Greenville  with  his  family  and  spoke 
of  purchasing  and  building  where  the  Furman  Univer 
sity  now  stands.     He  authorized  me  to  make  the  purchase 


Robert  Barnwell  Rhett.  181 

of  Mr.  McBee ;  but  Mr.  McBee  refused  to  sell  down  to 
the  river,  and  Mr.  Rhett  wrote  me  that  he  would  not 
think  of  piu-chasing  unless  he  could  own  to  the  water. 
Mr.  IMcBee  said  he  would  not  sell  the  land  on  the  river 
for  any  price,  as  he  anticipated  it  would,  some  day,  be 
of  great  value  for  manufacturing-  purposes. 

Judge  Cla}i:on,  of  Georgia,  was  in  Greenville  with  his 
wife  when  Mr.  Rhett  came  here.  He  had  been  in  Con- 
gress several  years,  and  had  acquired  quite  a  national 
reputation  as  a  Southern  fire-eater.  His  celebrated  toast 
at  Laurens  was  weW  known :  "■  He  who  dallies  in  seces- 
sion is  a  dastard,  and  he  who  doubts  is  damned !"  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  introducing  Mr.  Rhett  to  Judge  Cla}i:on, 
and  thought  they  would  be  most  congenial  spirits.  Im- 
mediately they  got  into  some  political  argument,  and  Mr. 
Rhett  became  very  much  excited.  His  manner  was  most 
passionate,  and  his  language  strong  and  unguarded. 
Judge  Clayton  said  to  me  the  next  morning  that  my 
friend  Rhett  would  have  to  moderate  his  tone  and  lan- 
guage when  he  took  his  seat  in  Congress.  Being  a  very 
strong  Union  man  myself,  I  thought  it  was  like  the  devil 
reproving  sin ! 

Mrs.  Rhett  was  the  opposite  of  her  husband.  She  was 
a  most  amiable,  mild  and  gentle  lady,  very  beautiflil  and 
intelligent.  He  was  all  passion,  excitement  and  fire. 
How  generally  is  it  the  case  that  men  and  women  love 
opposites.  A  little  man  gets  himself  a  large  wife,  a  very 
talkative  woman  prefers  a  silent  gentleman,  and  a  pas- 
sionate man  chooses  a  calm,  good-natured  wife.  I  su}}- 
pose  Dar«dn  would  say  this  was  a  law  of  natm-e  to  pre- 
vent too  strong  a  development  in  one  line.  How  often, 
too,  is  it  the  case  that  a  beautiful,  delicate  lady  marries  a 
large,  rough  man,  the  very  opposite  of  herself.  Refined, 
cultivated  women  do  not  fancy,  as  a  general  rule,  ex- 
quisites, who  think  themselves  handsome. 

There  were  no  two  men  who  were  more  antipodes  of 
each  other  than  Mr,  Rhett  and  myself  in  poHtics,  and 
yet  our  social  relations  were  always  kind,  courteous  and 


132  Robert  Barnwell  Rhett. 

cordial.  Tlie  winter  after  lie  was  in  Greenville,  I  went 
to  Charleston  and  he  called  to  see  me  at  Stewart's  hotel, 
invited  me  to  dine  with  him,  and  had  a  large  party  of  gentle- 
men to  meet  me.  I  wa.s  in  Richmond  immediately  after 
the  battle  of  Manassas,  and  he  showed  me  great  atten- 
tion, went  A\itli  me  to  the  war  department  to  procure  a 
passport  to  visit  the  army.  In  speaking  of  the  battle  he 
said  it  was  remarkable  how  many  of  the  greatest  victories 
of  the  Avorld  had  been  barren  of  results.  He  mentioned 
Hannibal's  crushing  victory  at  Cannse.  The  Roman 
army  and  the  nobility  of  Rome  were  destroyed,  and  yet 
Hannibal  did  not  march  on  and  capture  the  city.  He 
thought  the  Confederate  army  ought  to  have  gone  on  and 
taken  the  Federal  city. 

Mr.  Rhett  had  a  cancer  on  his  face  for  many  years. 
He  heard  of  the  cures  Dr.  Laud  had  effected  in  Green- 
ville, and  wrote  me  on  the  subject.  I  advised  him  to 
come  up  and  see  the  doctor.  He  did  so.  After  the  first 
surgical  operation  he  came  to  my  office  and  laughed  very 
heartily  at  the  rude  practice  of  his  surgeon.  He  said  Dr. 
Geddings  would  have  been  greatly  amused  if  he  could 
have  peeped  in  and  seen  him  in  the  hands  of  Land,  who 
was  an  ignorant,  illiterate  man,  and  no  doctor  at  all. 
His  cancer  was  in  some  measure  checked  by  Dr.  Land, 
but  not  cured. 

Whilst  editing  the  Southern  Patriot,  I  spoke  sarcasti- 
cally of  the  secessionists  who  were  always  vaunting  of 
their  devotion  and  love  for  their  mother  State.  I  men- 
tioned that  many  of  them  were  not  even  born  in  South 
Carolina.  I  said  that  Chancellor  Harper  was  born  in 
one  of  the  West  India  Islands,  Col.  William  Preston  in 
Philadelphia,  Chancellor  Dun  kin  in  one  of  the  northern 
States,  and  Col.  R.  B.  Rhett  at  Smithville,  in  North 
Carolina,  where  his  father  lived  for  many  years.  Mr. 
Rhett,  who  took  the  Southern  Patriot,  and  read  it,  as  he 
told  me,  every  week,  replied  to  my  remarks  in  one  of  the 
Charleston  papers,  and  gave  an  account  of  his.  ancestors, 
who  were  all  South  Carolinians,  and  identified  with  the 


Robert  Barnwell  Rhett,  133 

history  of  the  State  from  its  earhest  settlement.  He  Uke- 
wise  stated  that  he  had  never  seen  the  sim  rise  except  in 
Beaufort  till  he  was  ten  or  twelve  years  old.  I  regarded 
this  statement  as  a  contradiction  of  my  assertion  until, 
some  years  since  my  friend,  Henry  Farmer,  Esq.,  of  Flat 
Rock,  N.  C,  told  me  he  heard  Mr.  Rhett,  tell  a  parcel 
of  ladies,  at  his  house,  that  he  (Mr.  Rhett)  was  a  native 
of  North  Carolma. 

After  Mr.  Rhett's  election  as  Attorney-General,  he 
moved  to  Charleston,  and  he  told  me  that  he  was  greatly 
struck  with  the  learning  and  superiority  of  the  Charleston 
Bar.  He  said  he  regarded  Mr,  Petigru  the  greatest  and 
most  accomplished  lawyer  in  the  United  States.  I  think 
Mr.  Rhett  was  more  of  a  politician  than  a  la^vj^er.  He 
certainly  acquired  more  reputation  as  a  member  of  Con- 
gress than  he  ever  did  at  the  Bar.  I  vnW  not  attempt  to 
sketch  his  character  as  a  statesman.  He  was  first  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  then  a  United 
States  Senator.  He  was  a  distinguished  member  of  the 
Confederate  conventions  at  Montgomery  and  Richmond. 
He  was  violently  opposed  to  the  administration  of  Presi- 
dent Davis,  and  was  beaten  for  the  Confederate  Congress 
on  that  account. 

Mr.  Rhett  was  a  brilliant  writer  and  an  eloquent 
speaker,  and  always  bold,  frank  and  manly  in  his  wait- 
ings and  speeches.  I  heard  him  in  the  State  Convention 
denounce  some  of  the  leaders  of  his  party  for  their 
aflPected  love  for  the  Federal  Union.  He  defied  any  one 
of  them  to  lay  his  hand  on  his  heart  and  say  that  he 
loved  the  Union  !  Old  Colonel  Warren,  a  revolutionary 
patriot,  who  had  lost  a  leg  in  the  war  of  Independence, 
jumped  up  on  his  crutches  and  said  that  he  could,  in 
truth  and  with  all  sincerity  lay  his  hand  on  his  heart  and 
say  that  "  he  loved  this  Union  !  "  But  Mr.  Rhett  was  al- 
ways a  disimionist  as  well  as  a  nullifier  and  secessionist 
and  despised  the  Union  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart  till 
the  dav  of  his  deatli. 


184  Robert  Babnwell  Rhett. 

Whilst  a  nieinl)ei-  of  the  Legislature,  I  had  so  much 
confideuee  in  INIr.  Rhett's  ability  and  patriotism,  that  I 
supported  him  tor  the  Unital  States  Senate  in  preference 
to  liLs  opponents,  who  were  of  the  same  party,  though 
not  oiwnly  so  violent  in  their  polities.  In  the  State 
Convention  of  1852,  Mr.  Rhett  came  in  and  took  a  seat 
by  the  side  of  me.  He  said  the  resolutions  I  had  offered, 
coming  from  an  old  Union  man,  really  put  to  shame  the 
feeble  report  of  the  committee  of  twenty-one,  of  which 
Judge  Cheves  was  chairman. 

Mr.  Rhett  was  a  memlier  of  the  celebrated  Nashville 
Convention,  and  wrote  one  of  the  able  addresses  adopted 
by  that  convention.  I  heard  my  friend  Heniy  C.  Young, 
Esq.,  who  stayed  in  the  same  room  Avith  Mr.  Rhett, 
whilst  attending  the  convention,  say  that  this  address 
was  written  on  the  spur  of  the  occasion,  and  he  was 
amazed  at  the  rapidity  Avith  Avhich  ISIr.  Rhett  wrote  it. 
I  had  supposed  it  Avas  carefully  prepared  at  home  and 
taken  Avitli  him  to  the  convention. 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Rhett  devoted  the  latter  part  of  his 
life  to  writing  a  history  of  his  oAvn  times,  or  rather  a 
history  of  South  Carolina.  I  hope,  if  he  left  such  a 
AA'ork,  that  it  Avill  be  published,  and  I  am  sure  it  Avill  be 
a  valuable  contribution  to  the  literature  of  the  State. 

]\Ir.  Rhett's  family  Avere  all  remarkably  talented.  His 
younger  brother,  Albert  Rhett,  Avas  one  of  the  most 
highly  gifted  young  men  I  ever  met.  I  served  Avith  him 
in  the  Legislature  several  years,  and  his  speeches  would 
ha\'e  done  credit  to  the  United  States  Senate.  He  died 
early — cut  off  in  the  prime  of  his  cai'cer,  Avhich  Avould 
haA'C  been,  had  he  liA^ed,  a  most  brilliant  one.  His 
brother,  James  Rhett,  AA^as  an  old  Union  man,  and  we 
serA'cd  together  in  several  Union  couA'cntions.  He  was 
afterAA'ards  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and  a  gentle- 
man of  learning  and  talents.  I  heard  ISIr.  Petigru  say 
that  one  of  the  sons  of  Mr.  BaruAvell  Rhett,  who  Avas 
then  reading  laAv  in  his  office,  Avas  the  most  liighly  gifted 
young  man  he  had  CA'er  kuoAvn. 


REVERDY  JOHNSON. 

In  1846,  Mr,  Critteudeu,  of  Kentucky,  pointed  out  to 
me,  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  Eeverdy  Johnson,  then  a 
Senator  from  Maryland,  as  the  first  lawyer  at  the  bar  in 
the  United  States.  He  was  so  regarded  by  the  Senate 
twenty  years  ago,  and  has  ever  since  maintained  his  repu- 
tation as  one  of  the  first  of  American  law^^ers.  He  is 
now  a  very  old  man,  but  his  mind  seems  as  clear  and  as 
strong  as  it  ever  was,  and  his  speeches  are  as  able  as  they 
were  when  he  first  took  his  seat  in  the  United  States 
Senate.  He  has  opposed  and  exposed,  with  great  ability, 
all  the  unconstitutional  legislation  of  Congress  for  the 
last  three  years,  and  defended  with  equal  ability  and 
zeal  the  rights  of  the  Southern  States.  Unfortunately 
he  became  alarmed,  eighteen  months  ago,  at  the  Re- 
publican threats  of  confiscation,  and  yielded  his  assent  to 
the  Reconstruction  Military  Bill.  This  surrender  of  Mr. 
Johnson,  to  the  threats  of  the  Republicans  and  his  own 
fears,  had  a  most  baneful  influence  throughout  the 
Southern  States.  It  was  ill-timed  and  most  uufortimate. 
President  Johnson  was  vetoing  the  bills,  and  writing  his 
incomparable  messages  against  them,  whilst  the  Maryland 
Senator  was  voting  for  one  of  them,  and  urging  its 
adoption  by  the  Southern  people.  This  encouraged 
Governor  Brown,  of  Georgia,  and  other  politicians  of 
his  school,  to  break  ground  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of 
these  abominable  measures.  The  people  became  apathetic 
and  indiiferent  to  the  terrible  dangers  which  threatened 
them.  It  seemed,  at  one  time,  that  the  spirit  of  the 
people  was  crushed  out  in  the  Southern  States,  aiKl  that 
they  were  disposed  to  submit  to  any  wrong,  usurpation 
or  oppression  on  the  part  of  Congress. 


136  Reverdy  Johnson. 

When  I.  went  to  Wiusliingtou  after  iiiy  election  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  I  requested  Mr.  Johnson  to  present 
my  cretlentials  to  the  Senate.  He  did  so,  and  spoke  of 
my  having  been  a  Union  man.  Sumner  replied  to  him, 
and  seemed  well  posted  as  to  all  my  antecedents  during 
the  war.  He  mentioned  that  I  had  accepted  office  under 
the  Confederate  States,  and  was  a  judge  under  the  Con- 
federacy at  the  close  of  the  war.  I  suppose  some  rene- 
gade in  Charleston,  had  furnished  him  with  this  informa- 
tion. Mr.  Johnson  seemed  to  regard  it  as  a  comjiliment 
that  I  had  selected  him  to  present  my  credentials  to  the 
Senate,  and  called  to  see  me  the  next  day.  I  met  him  in 
the  Philadelphia  Convention  in  1866,  and  was  with  him 
on  the  sub-committee  on  resolutions  and  address  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  The  address  had  been  pre- 
pared by  Mr.  Raymond,  of  the  New  York  Times.  A 
considerable  portion  of  it  in  reference  to  the  war,  was 
stricken  out  on  motion  of  Reverdv  Johnson,  as  beins: 
offensive  to  the  South.  The  address,  as  adopted,  was  a 
very  admirable  one,  but  the  author,  very  soon,  repu- 
diated the  whole  of  it,  and  went  back  to  the  Republicans. 

Reverdy  Johnson  is  a  man  of  medium  height  and 
size,  with  a  blemish  in  one  eye,  which  disfiures  him  very 
much.  His  appearance  is  not  striking  or  attractive. 
He  is  a  native  of  Maryland,  read  law  in  Annapolis,  has 
been  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  and  several 
times  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate.  He  has  re- 
cently been  appointed  Minister  to  England,  and  his 
nomination  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  notwith- 
standing his  opposition  to  the  impeachment  of  President 
Johnson.  He  will  make  an  able  representative  of  our 
government  at  the  Court  of  St.  James.  I  see  it  stated 
in  the  newspapers  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  is  to  accompany 
him  to  England,  on  a  visit,  as  she  says,  to  Queen 
Victoria. 


HENRY  MIDDLETON. 

Governor  Middletou  was  the  eldest  son  of  Arthur 
Middleton,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, and  a  lineal  descendant  of  Henry  Middle- 
ton,  president  of  the  convention  which  threw  oif  the 
proprietary  government  in  South  Carolina,  and  adopted, 
in  its  stead,  the  royal  government  of  Great  Britain.  He 
was  a  small  boy  during  the  Revolutionaiy  War,  and 
accomj)anied  his  father  whilst  attending  the  American 
Congress  in  Philadelphia.  In  consequence  of  the  dis- 
turbances of  the  Revolution,  and  his  attendance  on  his 
father,  he  said  his  early  education  had  been  neglected.  His 
son-in-law,  Mr.  Fisher,  of  Philadelphia,  thinks  by  this 
that  he  did  not,  like  his  younger  brother,  have  the  advant- 
ages of  a  collegiate  course  in  England.  Mr.  Fisher 
knows  that  he  had  a  private  tutor,  and  was  thoroughly 
taught  Latin,  Greek,  French  and  Italian.  He  traveled 
a  great  deal,  whilst  a  young  man,  in  Europe,  and  was 
in  France  for  some  time  during  the  French  Revolution. 

In  the  fall  of  1832,  Governor  Middleton  was  in 
Greenville  with  his  family.  He  had  formerly  resided 
here  before  his  mission  to  Russia,  and  had  disposed  of 
his  house  and  farm  to  Washington  Earle.  Through  my 
influence  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Conven- 
tion from  Greenville,  together  with  myself.  Colonel 
Brockmore  and  Felix  R.  Whitten,  called  in  the  fall  of 
1832,  to  nullify  the  tariif  laws  of  Congress.  Before 
starting  to  the  convention,  and  after  we  reached  there, 
we  were  a  good  deal  together,  and  I  derived  a  great  deal 
of  valuable  information  from  him,  and  was  always  de- 


138  Hf.nry  Middlkton. 

liVlited,  as  well  as  edified,  by  his  eonversations.  In  my 
Journal,  J  have  made  memoranda  of"  sonve  of  these  con- 
versations. He  amused  me  often  with  his  anecdotes  and 
sketches  of  public  men.  In  one  of  these  conversations 
he  told  me  that  he  then  had  in  his  possession  a  manu- 
script of  his  father,  which  contained  a  speech  of  Mr. 
Madison,  taken  down  in  shorthand,  advocating  a  treaty 
with  ( Treat  Britain,  on  the  condition  that  she  would  ac- 
knowledge the  independence  of  all  the  colonies  north  of 
the  Carolinas.  The  Carolinas  and  Georgia  were  to  remain 
British  provinces.  The  resolution  embodying  this 
proposition  was  introduced  in  the  old  Congress  by  Mr. 
Madison  himself.  Many  years  afterwards,  whilst  Gov- 
ernor Middleton  was  a  member  of  Congress,  he  men- 
tioned the  subject  of  this  speech  to  Mr.  Madison,  and 
expressed  his  great  surprise  at  it.  Mr.  Madison  ac- 
knowledged having  introduced  the  resolution  and  made 
the  speech.  He  justified  himself  on  the  ground  that  the 
Carolinas  and  Georgia  were  at  that  time  conquered  pro- 
vinces, the  country  was  overrun  with  British  troops,  and 
the  royal  government  restored.  These  colonies  Avere 
considered  entirely  lost  after  Gates's  defeat  at  Camden, 
and  all  reasonable  hope  of  recovering  them  was  gone 
forever.  An  address  had  been  presented  to  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  signed  by  many  of  the  most  prominent  citizens 
of  Charleston,  congratulating  him  on  his  victory  and  the 
final  subjugation  of  the  provinces.  I  do  not  remember 
.to  have  seen  this  remarkable  fact  mentioned  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  country.  The  address  to  Lord  Cornwallis  I 
had  heard  of  many  years  before,  but  not  the  speech  and 
resolution  of  Mr,  Madison.  Congress  sat,  at  that  time, 
with  closed  doors,  and  their  secret  proceedings  were  not 
known  to  the  country. 

Governor  Middleton  told  me  a  great  deal  about  soci- 
ety in  Europe  and  the  etiquette  of  their  courts.  In 
speaking  of  the  aristocracy  of  England,  he  said  there 
was  no  country  in  the  world  where  the  classes  were 
kept  more  distinct  than  they   were    in   Great  Britain. 


Henry  Middleton.  139 

There  was  no  association  whatever  between  the  higher 
and  lower  classes  in  society.  In  this  connection  he 
mentioned  several  anecdotes  of  James  Barbour,  whilst 
American  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St,  James.  He  had 
greatly  shocked  the  pride  of  the  nobility  by  accepting 
an  invitation  from  Arkwright,  a  famous  wealthy  artist 
in  London,  who  had  been  employed  professionally  in 
his  family.  He  disgusted  them,  too,  very  much,  by 
going  to  the  bar-room  and  calling  for  a  mint  julep.  In 
his  first  interview  with  Lord  Aberdeen,  Governor  Bar- 
bour was  informed  that  it  was  not  polite  to  address  him 
as  "  sir,"  but  to  say  "  my  lord,"  or  simply  "  yes "  and 
"no."  He  soon  forgot  his  instructions,  and  in  every 
sentence  he  used  the  forbidden  word,  "sir,"  greatly  to 
the  annoyance  of  his  lordship.  James  and  Philip  Bar- 
bour, said  Governor  Middleton,  were  brothers  and  sons 
of  a  poor  sherijff  of  one  of  the  counties  of  Virginia. 
They  deserved  great  credit  for  their  success  in  life. 
Whilst  their  father  was  sheriff  they  were  his  deputies. 
James  was  self-educated,  and  assisted  in  the  education  of 
Philip.  He  was  a  vain  man,-  and  sometimes  abused  the 
king's  English  in  his  speeches,  which  always  read  better 
than  they  were  when  delivered.  The  corrections  were 
made  by  the  reporters.  Philip  was  a  clever  man,  but  an 
unpleasant  speaker.  He  was  a  good  lawyer,  and  de- 
lighted in  telling  of  his  success  at  the  bar.  The  brothers 
were  both  members  of  Congress  under  the  administration 
of  John  Q.  Adams,  but  of  different  politics.  James  said 
to  Philip,  one  day,  that  he,  Phil,  had  a  happy  knack  of 
always  snuffing  the  popular  breeze  at  a  long  distance, 
and  was  never  caught  in  a  minority.  Philip  was  a 
Jackson  man,  and  James  sustained  the  administration  of 
Adams. 

On  my  return  from  a  visit  to  Washington,  I  heard  Sena- 
tor Hunter,  of  Virginia,  tell  of  a  speech  James  Barbour 
once  made,  whilst  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature,  after 
his  return  from  Europe.  He  was  opposed  by  a  Jackson 
Democrat,   whose  name  was  Jack  Davis.     The  canvass 


140  Henry  MmDLEToN. 

waxed  wann,  and  Barlxnir  took  the  stump.  He  saw 
that  he  was  likely  to  be  beateu,  and  told  the  peojile  that 
he  had  come  to  a  pretty  pass.  Afler  being  a  member  of 
Congress,  United  States  Senator,  Governor  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, and  minister  to  the  first  court  in  Europe,  I 
am  now  a  candidate  for  a  seat  in  the  Legislature  of 
Virginia,  and  am  opposed  by  Jack  Davis,  whose  highest 
recommendation  is  that  he  can  (h-ink  more  liquor  and 
play  a  better  fiddle  than  any  man  in  the  county  !  The 
result  of  the  election  proved  that  Jack  was  a  more  popu- 
lar man  before  the  people  than  the  ex-governor,  senator 
and  ambassador  ! 

When  about  to  leave  St.  Petersburg,  Mr.  Middleton 
tokl  me  he  proposed  selling  to  his  successor,  ]\Ir.  Ran- 
dolph, of  Roanoke,  his  fine  coach  and  four  beautiful 
horses.  Randolph  replied,  with  indignation,  "  I  am  no 
Southern  nabob,  and  will  not  sport  such  an  equipage !" 
He  rode  in  a  plain  carriage,  and  drove  only  two  horses, 
a  style  adopted  by  shopkeepers  and  tradesmen  alone  in 
St.  Petersburg.  On  his  return  to  the  United  States, 
Governor  Middleton  met  him  driving  a  coach  and  four 
blooded  horses  !  In  Virginia,  Randolph  was  disposed  to 
play  the  nabob  and  aristocrat !  But  in  Russia  he  pre- 
ferred acting  plebeian  and  democrat !  Such  was  his  re- 
markable eccentricity  of  character. 

Governor  Middleton  told  me  that  he  was  personally 
acquainted  with  almost  every  distinguished  man  in 
Europe.  He  saw  Bonaparte  in  every  station  which  he 
had  tilled,  from  that  of  General  of  the  Interior  to  his 
seat  on  the  throne  of  France.  He  was  on  terms  of  inti- 
macy with  liim  whilst  he  was  General  of  the  Interior, 
and  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  his  family.  At  one 
period  of  their  acquaintance  he  received  encouragement 
to  address  his  step-daughter.  "  Little  did  I  then  think," 
said  Governor  Middleton,  "that  she  would  ever  be  a 
queen."  She  was  a  clever  girl,  but  afterwards  seduced 
by  Napoleon,  and  married  to  his  brother !  Josephine 
was  the  mistress  of  Barras,  and  given  to  Napoleon  by 


Henry  Middleton.  141 

that  corrupt  minister,  with  a  dowry !  These  facts  are 
indisputable."  This  statement  is  the  very  language  of 
Governor  Middleton.  I  had  heard  these  slanders  all  my 
life,  but  I  never  gave  them  any  credence.  Governor 
Middleton,  however,  spoke  of  them  as  not  being  sus- 
ceptible of  a  doubt ! 

In  speaking  further  of  Randolph,  he  said  that  he 
acted  strangely  in  Russia  in  every  way.  He  would  not 
visit  or  receive  visits  from  any  one.  On  all  occasions 
his  servants  were  instructed  to  say  that  he  was  not  at 
home  !  Governor  Middleton  said  Randolph  was  a  most 
pleasant  fellow  aud  fine  company,  but  possessed  eccen- 
tricity bordering  on  derangement.  In  his  appearance  he 
looke  very  much  like  an  Indian.  Governor  Middleton 
says  that  Jefferson  gave  him  letters  when  he  went  to 
Europe,  and  that  he  was  strongly  attached  to  him 
throughout  his  life.  Their  acquaintance  commenced 
when  the  governor  was  quite  a  yoimg  man,  and  they 
corresponded  ever  afterwards.  But  the  publication  of 
Jefferson's  works,  after  his  death,  satisfied  Governor 
Middleton  that  he  was  not  sincere  in  his  professions,  but 
a  hollow-hearted  man  ! 

In  Paris  Governor  ISIiddleton  became  acquainted 
with  Elbridge  Gerry,  then  Minister  to  France,  with 
Charles  Cotes  worth  Pinckney  and  Chief  Justice  INIarshall. 
They  were  not  recognized  as  ministers.  It  Avas  intimated 
to  them  by  a  lady  authorized  by  Talleyrand,  that  if  they 
would  give  presents  they  might  be  received.  "  I  carried 
this  lady  to  see  my  uncle,  General  Pinckney,"  said  Gov- 
ernor Middleton,  "  when  she  made  the  communication." 
This  gave  rise  to  Pinckney's  famous  expression,  "Mil- 
lions for  defence,  but  not  a  cent  for  tribute."  Talley- 
rand afterwards  denied  that  the  lady  was  sent  by  him, 
or  authorized  to  make  the  offer.  Gerry  told  who  the 
lady  was,  and  she  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  for  some 
time.  The  governor  said  he  had  seen  this  lady  long 
afterwards,  and  they  talked  over  the  whole  oircuni.stan<  ^ . 


142  Hkxuy  Middletox. 

Governor  jNliddleton  was  a  man  of  (irdinary  height, 
erect  in  his  cai-riaue  and  neat  in  liis  (h'css.  He  wa.s  a 
man  of  irrcat  information,  and  wrote  and  conversed  well. 
He  did  nt)t  attempt  to  speak  in  any  of  our  union  con- 
ventions or  caucuses.  AVTiiist  in  Greenville  he  wrote 
several  political  articles  for  my  paper.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  the  Legislature  of  South  Carolina,  when  a 
very  young  man,  in  favor  of  general  suifrage,  and  was 
told  by  his  colleagues  that  he  would  be  defeated  at  the 
next  election  in  Charleston.  But,  instead  of  being  de- 
feated, he  was  elected  the  head  of  the  ticket.  He  w^as 
then  elected  Governor  of  the  State,  and  afterwards  sent 
as  Minister  to  Russia.  After  an  absence  of  more  than 
tAventy  years,  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  being 
recalled  l)y  General  Jackson.  AVhen  he  went  to  call  on 
the  president,  Jackson  expressed  great  plea.sure  at  seeing 
him,  and  Governor  Middleton  replied  to  him,  "  I  am 
indebted  to  your  excellency  for  the  pleasure  it  gives  you." 
He  found  his  native  State  in  the  midst  of  what  he  re- 
garded a  revolution ;  and  he  took  an  active  part  in  try- 
ing to  stop  the  revolution  and  preserve  the  Union.  He 
told  me  that  his  sons  were  going  astray  Avhen  he  re- 
turned to  South  Carolina,  but  that  he  had  stopped  them 
in  their  follv. 


JAMES  HAMILTON,  JR. 

Governor  Hamilton  was  the  gallant  leader  of  the 
nullification  party  in  South  Carolina.  He  originated 
the  nullification  clubs,  which  were  established  in  every 
district  of  the  State,  and  which  carried  the  elections,  that 
fall,  in  two-thirds  of  the  election  districts.  Mr.  Cal- 
hoim  was  the  author  of  nullification  in  South  Carolina, 
but  Governor  Hamilton  made  it  a  success  throug-hout 
the  State.  But  for  him  it  would  have  fallen  still-born, 
or  been  crushed  in  its  swaddling  clothes.  In  early  life 
he  had  been  the  efficient  advocate  of  strong  national 
powers  in  the  Federal  government,  the  open  and  public 
reviler  of  the  Virginia  doctrine  of  States'  Rights,  and 
the  eulogist  of  McDuffie,  "  one  of  the  people."  Instead 
of  trying  to  defend  his  political  consistency,  like  most 
politicians,  he  came  out  and  declared  in  a  publication 
which  he  made,  that  he  had  been  under  "a  natural  de- 
lusion ;  a  mental  hallucination  in  his  opposition  to 
States'  Rights ;  that,  having  seen  the  errors  of  his  way, 
he  had  abandoned  them,  and  sought  forgiveness  for  his 
grievous  political  sins  in  former  years."  St.  Paul,  after 
his  conversion  to  Christianity,  was  not  more  penitent,  or 
energetic  in  propagating  the  doctrines  which  he  had  per- 
secuted with  fire  and  sword.  Governor  Hamilton  was 
regarded  as  the  soul  of  honor  and  embodiment  of  chiv- 
alry in  South  Carolina.  He  was  sent  by  the  Republic 
of  Texas  as  ambassador  to  Europe,  and  whilst  there,  he 
made  use  of  the  funds  which  had  been  entrusted  to  him 
by  some  company  in  Virginia,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Texan  Republic,  expecting  most  confidently  to  be  placed 
in  fimds  by  the  government  of  Texas,  in  time  to  refund 


144  James  Hamilton,  Jr. 

those  of  tlie  A'^iriiinia  conipuny.  In  tliis,  there  was  a 
faihire,  and  the  traiisaetion  cast  a  cloud  over  his  bright 
fame  foi*  a  time.  He  became  embarrassed,  too,  in  his 
pecuniary  att'airs,  and  ^^•as  greatly  harassed  and  annoyed 
by  his  creditors.  His  speculations  were  bold  and 
reckless. 

Governor  Hamilton  was  for  several  years  a  leading 
member  of  the  South  Carolina  Legislature,  afler^-ards  a 
prominent  member  of  Congress  from  Beaufort,  and  then 
he  was  elected  Governor  of  the  State.  After  his  term  of 
office  had  expired,  and  nullification,  with  all  its  political 
excitement,  had  died  a  natural  death,  he  went  to  Texas 
and  commenced  his  magnificent  speculations  in  lauds,  etc. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Convention  at  the  same 
time  he  was  Governor  of  the  State,  and  was  elected 
President  of  the  Convention.  His  venerable  father  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Convention.  He  had  been  an  ac- 
tive and  gallant  officer  of  the  regular  army  in  the 
American  Rev^olution.  The  father  and  son  came  into 
the  Convention  together,  the  former  leaning  on  the  arm 
of  the  latter,  and  presented  an  interesting  spectacle. 
Governor  Hamilton  had  been  an  officer  of  the  United 
States  army  in  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  rose  to 
the  rank  of  major.  This  military  title  stuck  to  the 
governor  all  the  time  he  was  in  Congress,  and  until  he 
was  elected  brigadier-general  of  the  nullification  army. 
He  was  Governor  of  the  State  when  he  was  elected 
brigadier-general,  but  in  order  to  be  eligible  to  the  office, 
he  had  first  to  be  elected  ensign  in  one  of  the  militia 
companies  in  Charleston.  It  gave  great  offence  to  the 
Union  officers  to  have  an  ensign  elected  over  their  heads 
to  the  command  of  the  brigade.  The  fact  that  this  en- 
sign was  Governor  of  the  State  did  not  appease  their 
wrath.  Judge  Huger  told  me  that  Colonel  B.  F.  Hunt 
would  challenge  Hamilton  ;  that  he  was  bound  to  do  so 
according  to  military  etiquette.  Whenever  an  officer 
has  been  oversloughed,  said  the  judge,  he  must  fight  or 
he  is  disgraced.     But  Colonel  Hunt  did  not  regard  his 


James  Hamilton,  Jr.  J  4.") 

military  honor  so  deeply  wounded  as  to  make  it  neces- 
sary to  call  out  the  Governor. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  nullification  controversy, 
Hamilton  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  was 
then  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  with  a  view  of 
giving  him  an  opportunity  of  coming  out  with  an  ex- 
pose of  the  doctrine  of  nullification.  Mr.  Calhoun 
availed  himself  of  the  oj)portunity  thus  aiforded  by  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton's  letter,  and  published  a  long  communi- 
cation explaining  to  the  people  the  constitutionality  of 
nullification  and  its  operations  in  being  carried  out. 
This  document  gave  the  initiated  a  reason  for  the  faith 
that  was  in  them.  It  was  said  that  nullification  was  a 
peaceable  remedy,  and  an  appeal  must  be  made  to  the 
courts  to  test  the  constitutionality  of  the  tariff.  In  order 
to  do  this,  Governor  Hamilton  made  an  importation  of 
sugar,  and  declared,  in  a  public  speech,  that  he  knew 
every  true  nullifier  in  the  State  would  go  with  him  to 
the  death  for  his  sugar.  This  expression  gave  the 
Governor,  vnth  the  Union  men,  the  sobriquet  of  "  Sugar 
Jimmy."  When  his  sugar  arrived,  instead  of  depositing 
it  in  the  Custom  House,  President  Jackson  ordered  it  to 
be  placed  in  Castle  Pinckney,  and  there  kept  till  the 
duties  were  paid.  This  was  a  great  disappointment  to 
the  nullifiers,  for  they  could  not  so  well  get  at  it  in 
Castle  Pinckney.  After  waiting  awhile,  the  Governor 
went  and  paid  the  duties,  and  took  his  sugar.  A  case 
had  been  made  up  in  court,  to  test  the  constitutionality  of 
the  tariif,  and  General  McDuffie  went  to  Charleston  to 
argue  it ;  but  they  could  not  get  the  question  before  the 
jury,  and  the  case  proved  a  failure. 

Governor  Hamilton  was  very  much  dissatisfied  with 
the  course  Georgia  pursued  in  our  nullification  struggle. 
He  confidently  expected  that  she  would  unite  with  South 
Carolina,  and  sustain  her  in  the  movement.  When  the 
State  Convention  adjourned,  I  remember.  Governor 
Hamilton  made  some  disparaging  remarks  in  reference 
to  Georgia. 


146  Ja!«i:s  Haimilton,  Jk. 

Twenty  years  afterwards,  wlieu  our  secession  contro- 
versy sjirnng-  up,  (ilcneral  Hamilton  was  not  in  South 
Carolina,  hut  it  was  expectetl,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that 
he  would  favor  it  with  great  zeal  and  ability.  How 
sadly  were  his  friends  disappointed  when  he  came  out 
with  a  letter  dejira'ating,  in  tot(3,  the  whole  movement, 
as  uncalled  for,  and  revolutionary  in  its  character.  This 
op(Mied  the  press  of  the  State  on  him,  and  he  was  de- 
nounced everywhere  as  a  renegade.  I  met  him  after- 
wards in  Washington  City,  and  spent  several  weeks 
with  him  there,  in  the  same  hotel.  \Ye  talked  over  the 
politics  of  South  C\irolina,  and  the  Governor  remarked 
that  no  two  men  in  the  State  had  l)een  so  well  abused  as 
ourselves.  He  said,  not  only  his  friends  abandoned  him, 
but  he  thought  liis  own  sons  were  going  to  prove  "want- 
ing in  iilial  respect  and  feeling.  The  truth  was,  his 
letter  and  his  course  on  the  subject  of  secession  were 
marked  by  wisdom  and  jxitriotism.  The  State  after- 
wards adopted  his  advice,  and  acquiesced  in  her  griev- 
ances, so-called.  I  had  started  the  Southern  Patriot  at 
the  commencement  of  the  struggle,  and  fought  boldly 
against  secession.  This  was  the  first  check  it  received  in 
South  Carolina,  and  Judge  Evans  once  said  to  me,  in 
Washington,  but  for  this  (opposition,  secession  would 
have  gone  l)y  default  in  the  State.  When  General 
Hamilton's  letter  made  its  appearance,  the  secessionists 
said  that  if  it  had  been  written  by  myself,  they  ^^^ould 
not  have  thought  strange  of  it,  but  coming,  as  it  did, 
from  their  leader  in  the  days  of  nullification,  it  was  too 
bad. 

Shortly  after  secession  had  broke  forth,  and  1  had 
started  the  Patriot,  the  co-ojieration  party  sprung  up  in 
South  Carolina,  M^hich  was  a  Union  party  in  disguise, 
and  secession  was  postponed  for  ten  years,  only  to  be 
more  widespread  and  horrible  in  its  denouement.  If  I 
had  let  it  go  by  default  in  1850,  as  Judge  Evans  said, 
it  would  have  been  crushed  out  by  President  Fillmore  in 
a   short  time,  and  perhaps  witliout  bloodshed.     Instead 


James  PIamilton,  Jr.  117 

of  making  war  against  the  State,  his  plan  was  to  cut  ott' 
the  mails,  and  move  the  Custom  on  board  of  a  vessel  in 
the  harbor  of  Charleston. 

Whilst  Governor  Hamilton  and  myself  were  at 
Gadsby's  Hotel  in  Washington,  he  went  several  times  to 
see  the  Misses  Foxes,  who  Avere  spiritualists  and  spirit 
rappers.  He  told  me,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  they 
had  called  up  the  spirit  of  his  deceased  son,  and  he  had 
received  communications  from  him,  wliich  no  one  but 
himself  could  have  made.  We  went  one  evening  to  the 
room  of  Senator  Talmedge,  of  New  York,  who  was  a 
writing  medium,  and  he  told  us  of  communications  he 
had  with  the  spirit  of  Calhoun,  which  were  very  re- 
markable. He  asked  Calhoun  if  he  still  thought  nulli- 
fication right  and  constitutional,  and  he  replied  that  he 
did.  Hamilton  remarked,  "  I  am  glad  he  sticks  to  his 
principles  in  the  other  world." 

Governor  Hamilton  was  a  small  man,  quite  handsome 
and  ^^repossessing  in  his  appearance.  He  was  a  lawyer, 
and  was  a  pleasant  and  graceful  speaker.  He  wrote 
well,  and  at  times  admirably  well.  He  was  warm- 
hearted and  devoted  to  his  friends,  and  kind  and  affection- 
ate in  all  the  relations  of  life.  General  Hamilton's  death 
was  a  sad  one.  He  was  drowned  at  sea,  going  from 
New  Orleans  to  Texas. 


DAVIU  JOHNSON. 

This  pure,  upright,  and  noble  lieartecl  gentleman  filled, 
with  distinction,  many  public  offices  in  South  Carolina. 
Just  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature,  then  Solicitor,  Circuit  Judge,  Ap- 
peal Judge,  Chancellor,  and  Governor  of  the  State.  He 
was,  I  think,  born  in  Virginia,  but  his  parents  moved, 
whilst  he  was  an  infant,  to  Union  District,  South  Car- 
olina, where  he  lived  during  his  whole  life,  and  died  in  a 
good  old  age,  full  of  honors  and  distinction.  He  read 
law  with  Judge  Nott,  and  afterAvards  the  preceptor  and 
■student  were  selected,  from  all  our  judges,  on  the  re-or- 
ganization of  the  courts,  to  fill  seats  on  the  appeal  bench 
with  Judge  Colcock.  My  acquaintance  with  Judge 
Johnson  commenced  with  my  admission  to  the  bar,  and 
his  signature  is  to  my  commission  as  an  attorney-at-law 
and  in  equity.  During  the  days  of  nullification,  being 
both  Union  men,  we  were  thrown  together  veiy  often  in 
our  conventions,  caucuses  and  consultations.  I  was  a 
good  deal  in  his  company  afterwards,  up  to  the  expira- 
tion of  his  gubernatorial  term.  He  told  me  a  great  many 
incidents  of  his  life  and  early  history. 

When  he  became  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature,  he 
was  a  very  young  man,  and  not  much  known  in  his  dis- 
trict to  the  great  mass  of  voters.  In  those  days,  there 
was  but  one  box  in  the  Avhole  district,  and  all  voted  at 
the  Court  House.  He  was  returning  to  the  village  of 
Union  on  the  morning  of  the  election,  having  been  out 
canvassing  the  district,  when  he  fell  in  company  with  one 
or  two  hundred  voters,  all  on  horseback,  riding  in  mili- 
tary order  t(j  the  Court  House,  for  the  purpose  of  de])osit- 


David  Johnson.  149 

ing  their  votes.  He  rode  ii})  by  the  side  of  the  (^aptuin 
of  the  company,  who  told  him  that  they  had  made  up 
their  ticket,  aud  his  name  was  not  on  it.  This  was  rather 
cold  comfort,  and  Johnson  knew  it  would  be  decisive  of 
the  election.  He,  however,  bore  it  calmly,  and  continued 
his  conversation  for  some  miles  with  the  captain.  Just 
before  reaching  the  village,  they  called  a  halt  for  the  pur- 
pose of  taking  a  drink,  most  of  them  having  a  chunk 
bottle  of  whisky  in  their  overcoat  pockets.  After  a  little 
chat,  all  being  in  good  humor,  the  captain  proposed  that 
they  should  change  their  ticket,  strike  off  the  name  of  one 
candidate,  and  put  that  of  Johnson  in  its  place.  The 
motion  was  carried  and  the  change  made.  This  secured 
his  election,  aud  but  for  this  lucky  accident,  he  would 
have  been  defeated.  He  was  elected  solicitor  of  his  cir- 
cuit duriup;  this  Legislative  term. 

Whilst  he  was  solicitor  there  was  a  vacancy  on  the 
bench,  and  Col.  Joseph  Gist  was  a  candidate  to  fill  the 
vacancy,  with  every  prospect  of  being  elected.  Johnson 
had  taken  a  very  active  part  for  him,  and  was  very  de- 
sirous of  getting  him  out  of  his  way  as  a  practicing  law- 
yer. Col.  Gist  was  an  old  lawyer,  and  had  a  very  ex- 
tensive and  lucrative  practice  in  Johnson's  circuit.  The 
night  before  the  election  of  judge  by  the  Legislature, 
Col.  Gist  came  to  Johnson's  room  in  Columbia,  and  told 
him  that  he  had  declined  being  a  candidate  for  judge. 
This  Johnson  protested  against  most  vehemently,  and 
said  it  would  not  be  permitted.  There  could  be  no  doubt 
of  his  election,  and  his  friends  were  very  anxious  to  see 
him  on  the  bench.  Gist  was,  at  that  time,  a  leading 
member  of  the  Legislature  from  the  upper  country,  and 
very  popular.  But  he  said  to  Johnson  his  unalterable 
determination  was  made,  and  that  he  would  not  be  a  can- 
didate, or  accept  the  office  if  elected.  Johnson  said  to 
him,  your  friends  will  be  greatly  disappointed,  for  there 
is  no  other  lawyer  in  the  upper  country  on  whom  they 
will  concentrate  their  votes.  Gist  said  to  him,  you  are 
mistaken,  they  will  all  vote  for  you.     Johnson  Avasthun- 


loO  David  Joiinsox. 

(lorstnick  at  tliis  aniKmiunnent,  and  laiit^licd  at  llie  in- 
credible idea  of"  his  heini*:  elected  a  jud<Tc,  for  such  an 
aspiration  had  nevci"  crossal  his  mind.  He  Avas  a  veiy 
yt)nnf;  man,  had  not  had  an  extensive  practice  at  the  bar, 
and  was  delighted  with  tiic  office  of  solicitor.  But  Gist 
put  him  in  nomination  the  next  morning  and  had  him 
elected  on  the  first  ballot.  So  much  astonished  was 
Johnson,  when  they  brouiiht  him  the  ncAvsof  his  election, 
that  he  could  not  resist  rising-  from  his  seat,  buttoning  up 
his  coat  and  saying,  ''Judge  Johnson." 

When  the  old  constitutional  court  Mas  abolished,  and 
the  appeal  court  m  law  and  equity  established,  Avith  three 
judges,  Nott,  Johnson  and  Colcock  Avere  elected  appeal 
judges,  as  I  have  already  stated.  DeSaussure  and 
Thompson  were  elected  chancellors,  and  the  other  equity 
judges,  Waties,  James  and  Gailliard,  together  with  the 
law  judges,  Gantt,  Richardson  and  Huger,  Mere  placed 
on  circuit  duty.  For  ten  or  twelve  years,  Judge  Johnson 
remained  in  the  Appeal  CV)urt,  and  until  it  Mas  abohshed. 
The  decision  of  that  court,  then  comjiosed  of  Johnson, 
O'Neall  and  Harper,  on  the  test  oath,  and  against  its  con- 
stitutionality, w^as  its  death  Marrant.  All  the  judges  in 
laM'  and  equity  M^ere  then  required  to  meet  in  one  court 
after  their  circuits  M^ere  over,  and  hear  appeals,  both  in 
laM'  and  equity.  This  mob  court,  as  it  M'as  called,  did 
not  last  long.  Separate  coiulis  Mere  established  as  for- 
merly, for  hearing  ajipeals  in  laM'  and  equity,  and  Judge 
Johnson  Mas  elected  one  of  the  Chancellors.  From  the 
chancery  bench,  in  his  old  age,  he  was  elected  Governor 
of  the  State.  The  act  of  the  Legislature  requiring  the 
Governor  to  revicM^  the  M'hole  militia  of  the  State  during 
his  term  of  office,  Mas  not  complied  M'ith,  by  his  Excel- 
lency Governor  Johnson,  in  consequence  of  his  age  and 
inability  to  ride  on  horseback.  This  Mas  a  pageant  pro- 
ductive of  no  good,  except  it  aiforded  the  people  an  op- 
portunity of  seeing  the  Governor,  and  hearing  him  ad- 
dress* the  regiments  on  the  militia  system  and  the  polities 
of  the  country.     Governor  Johnson   M^as  a   very  large 


David  Johnson.  151 

man,  and  J  shunld  suppose  rather  a  clumsy  rider  in  his 
prime. 

Judge  Johnson  made  it  a  rule  never  to  sta}-  at  a  law- 
yer's house  whilst  on  the  circuit.  He  said  parties  in 
court  would  always  have  a  suspicion  of  partiality  where 
the  presiding  judge  was  entertained  by  a  member  of  the 
bar.  There  never  was  any  one  who  passed  through  a 
long  life  with  less  saspicion  on  his  fairness,  integrity  and 
uprightness  than  Governor  Johnson.  And  he  had  learn- 
ing and  talents,  as  I  once  heard  Col.  Ben.  F.  Hunt  say 
in  the  LegL^lature,  to  fill,  with  great  ability,  any  and 
ever}'  position  in  which  his  State  saw  proper  to  place 
him. 

A  gentleman  once  told  me  that  Judge  . Johnson,  in  his 
confidential  intercourse  with  him,  said  in  early  life  he 
was  desperately  in  love  ^ntli  a  yoimg  lady  who  rejected 
his  addresses,  being  then  poor  and  obscure.  She  after- 
wards married  a  man  who  did  not  have  the  prosperity 
and  success  which  attended  his  career  through  hfe,  but 
that  he  always  felt  a  deep  interest  in  her  situation,  even 
in  his  old  age,  as  his  first  love.  Whilst  he  was  a  circuit 
judge,  there  was  a  case  for  trial  i)efore  him,  in  which  a 
l)rother-in-law  was  a  party.  The  judge  said  to  one  of 
the  law^'ei-s  concerned,  that  he  would  not  tr}'  the  case,  for 
he  had  such  a  bad  opinion  of  his  brother-in-law,  that  he 
was  afraid  he  could  not  do  him  justice. 

There  were  few  men  in  South  Carolina  who  had  more 
personal  friends  than  Governor  Johnson,  at  every  periwl 
of  his  life.  He  had  no  enemies.  All  respected  him, 
even  in  the  times  of  highest  political  excitement.  I  re- 
member hearing  Col.  David  J.  McCord,  the  fiercest  and 
bitterest  of  uullificrs,  express  this  opinion,  whilst  he  was 
denoimcing,  in  the  Legislature,  in  terms  of  crreat  bitter- 
ness,  the  leading  members  of  the  Union  party.  Judge 
Johnson  was  so  amiable,  so  free  from  all  malevolence, 
and  so  frank  and  respectful  to\vards  his  opponents,  that 
none  could  dislike  him.  When  he  was  elected  an  appeal 
judge,  and  had  to  hear  (uses  from  Chancerv,  he  said  to 


152  David  Johnson. 

Cliancellor  Tlionipson,  that  lie  had  never  liacl  auy 
Chancery  practice,  and  would  liave  to  commence  its 
study.  With  great  simplicity  he  inquired  of  the  Chan- 
cellor how  long  he  supposed  it  would  take  him  to  become 
familiar  with  the  grciit  j)rinciplesof  equity  jurisprudence. 
The  Chancellor  w^lio  loved  to  be  sarcastic  and  witty,  re- 
plied that  if  his  mind  ^vas  as  huge  as  his  body,  he  could 
do  so  in  a  very  short  time.  The  0])inions  of  the  court  of 
three,  as  reported  in  Bailey  and  Hill,  will  show  that 
Judge  Johnson  did  become  familiar  with  the  principles 
and  practice  of  equity,  and  his  decrees  after  he  be- 
came Chancellor,  were  able,  learned  and  well  considered. 


JAMES  H.  ADAMS. 

Governor  Adams  and  myself  became  acquainted  with 
each  other  as  members  of  the  Legislature  when  we  were 
both  young  men.  We  were  the  antijDodes  of  each  other 
in  politics,  and  continued  so  throughout  our  after  Hves. 
He  was  a  Whig  and  I  was  a  Democrat.  He  believed 
nullification  the  rightful  remedy  for  all  unconstitutional 
legislation  on  the  part  of  Congress.  I  did  not  acknowl- 
edge the  right  of  a  State  to  veto  acts  of  Congress,  and 
believed  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  the 
proper  tribunal  to  try  the  constitutionality  of  all  legisla- 
tion. He  believed  in  the  constitutional  right  of  a  State 
to  secede  from  the  Federal  compact.  I  denied  the  con- 
stitutional right  of  a  State  to  break  up  the  government 
when  she  pleased,  but  admitted  the  right  of  revolution 
when  a  Government  became  intolerably  oppressive.  Gov. 
Adams  was  in  favor  of  opening  the  African  slave  trade. 
I  regarded  such  a  step  disgraceful  to  our  national  char- 
acter, and  nefarious  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  as  well  as 
being  unwise  and  against  the  true  interests  of  the  South- 
ern States.  But  notwithstanding  this  difference  in  poli- 
tics {toto  ccelo),  we  became  warm,  cordial  and  intimate 
friends  personally,  and  remained  so  up  to  his  lamented 
death.  Every  spring,  for  a  number  of  years,  during  my 
attendance  on  the  Court  of  Appeals,  I  was  in  the  habit 
of  visiting  his  handsome  residence,  fourteen  or  fifteen 
miles  below  Columbia,  with  a  party  of  gentlemen,  and 
spending  three  or  four  days  most  pleasantly  with  him, 
his  charming  wife  and  lovely  daughters.  We  always 
had  a  fine  time,  and  enjoyed  ourselves  most  dehghtfully. 
His   entertainment  was  elegant,  and   his  hospitality  un- 


154  James  H.  Adams. 

hounded.  We  were  amused,  one  morning  in  May,  in 
having  sent  up  to  us,  before  we  were  dressed,  a  magniii- 
eent  howl  of  mint  julep,  Avell  ieed.  AV^hilst  sipping  it, 
Judoe  Aldricli  remarked  :  "  What  a  o-lorious  wife  Adams 
has !  I  once  asked  my  wife  to  make  me  a  hrandy  toddy, 
and  she  eoolly  replied,  that  if  I  waited  till  she  made  one, 
I  woukl  have  U)  wait  a  long  time  ! " 

Governor  Adams  lost  both  of  his  parents  whilst  he  was 
an  infant,  and  his  okl  grandfather  took  him  and  brought 
him  up.  This  okl  gentleman  had  moved  to  South  Car- 
olina in  the  early  settlement  of  the  up  country,  from 
Virginia,  and  amassed  a  very  large  fortune.  He  could 
only  write  his  name  and  nothing  more,  but  lie  gave  all 
his  sons  and  grandsons  a  collegiate  education.  The  Gov. 
was  sent  to  Yale  CVjllege,  Avhere  he  graduated.  John  C. 
Calhoiui  was  a  graduate  of  the  same  institution,  and  a 
great  many  Southern  young  men  were  sent  there  to  be 
educated  in  those  days.  After  graduating.  Gov.  Adams 
got  married,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  management  of 
his  large  planting  interest  in  Richland  District.  He 
never  studied  any  profession,  but  soon  became  engaged 
in  politics.  For  many  years  he  represented  Richland 
District  in  both  Houses  of  the  Legislature,  and  his  oppo- 
sition was  always  very  strong  and  powerful.  Money  was 
spent  most  freely  on  both  sides.  In  one  of  his  elections 
for  the  Senate,  it  is  said  that  the  price  of  a  sand  hill  vote 
was  as  high  as  fifty  dollars.  I  remember  meeting  Col. 
William  C.  Prescott  in  the  cars  once  on  his  return  from 
Virginia,  who  jestingly  said  he  was  hurrying  back  to 
the  election  in  Columbia,  for  he  understood  that  a  vote 
was  worth  fifly  dollars  !  In  one  of  the  Governor's  con- 
tests for  the  Senate,  he  came  to  Greenville  during  the 
summer,  and  I  inquired  how  he  could  possibly  leave 
home  during  the  canvass.  He  said  nothing  but  a  mira- 
cle could  defeat  his  election.  But  he  was  defeated  by  a 
few  votes.  When  I  met  him  that  fall  in  Columbia,  I 
said  to  him  the  "  miracle  "  had  happened.  He  replied, 
yes ;  that  he  had  spent  ten  thousand  dollars  on  the  elec- 


James  H.  Adams.  Vv^:••'155 


\;*?' 


tion,  aud  liis  opponent  fifty  thousand;  that  he  saw  it 
would  break  liini  if  lie  continued  the  contest,  and  gave 
it  up. 

Just  before  these  elections  in  Richland,  both  sides  kept 
what  was  called  "pens,"  where  those  who  were  willing 
to  sell  their  votes,  were  housed  two  or  three  days  before 
the  election  and  marched  to  the  polls  when  opened.  They 
were  not  to  be  trusted  after  bartering  their  suffrage.  The 
Governor  told  me  an  amusing  anecdote  in  connection 
wath  this  last  canvass  of  his.  He  said  a  friend  came  to 
him  one  day  in  Columbia  and  told  him  there  was  a  sand- 
hill voter  in  town,  and  he  thought  he  might  be  secured, 
although  he  had  already  sold  his  vote  to  the  opposite 
party.  The  Governor  hunted  him  up,  and  began  to  talk 
about  the  election.  The  description  of  the  fellow's  per- 
sonal appearance  was  most  ludicrous  indeed.  He  had  on 
his  head  an  old  straw  hat,  which  looked  as  if  half  of  it 
had  been  eaten  up  by  the  cows.  He  was  a  long,  pale- 
faced,  gangling  sand-lapper,  with  a  calico  hunting- 
shirt  in  tatters,  barefooted,  and  a  ragged  pair  of  panta- 
loons, which  came  only  half-way  between  his  knees  and 
ankles.  The  fellow  told  the  Governor  that  he  was  paid 
by  the  other  party,  but  seemed  willing  to  sell  his  vote 
again.  The  Governor  asked  him  how  much  he  would 
take  to  go  down  to  Gadsden  and  stay  till  the  election 
came  on.  He  replied,  fifty  dollars.  The  Governor  said 
it  was  too  much,  and  proposed  giving  him  ten  dollars, 
which  would  be  a  clever  compensation  for  two  or  three 
days'  services.  "  But  you  must  remember.  General,"  said 
the  blackguard,  "that  my  honoris  involved  in  this  mat- 
ter, and  I  ought  to  have  something  extra  for  that  !  "  The 
Governor  said  he  was  so  much  amused  at  such  a  fellow, 
on  the  eve  of  selling  his  vote  the  second  time,  talking  of 
his  wounded  honor,  and  demanding  an  additional  price 
on  that  account,  that  he  burst  into  a  hearty  laugh,  and 
turned  oif. 

Governor  Adams,  after  his  defeat  for  the  State  Senate, 
was    elected   C1n"ef  Magistrate  of  the  State,   and  came 


156  James  H.  Adams 

very  uear  hcino;  electcHl  HiiittMl  States  Senator  at  the  ex- 
piration of  liis  jiubernatoriiil  term  of  office.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  State  Convention  which  seceded  from  the 
Union,  and  appointed  with  Barnwell  and  Orr  to  go  to 
Washington  and  negotiate  with  President  Bnchanau  as  to 
his  giving  up  the  forts  in  Cliarleston,  on  the  United 
States  being  compensated  for  them.  Soon  afterwards 
his  health  became  very  bad,  and  he  did  not  live  to  wit- 
ness the  misfortune,  degradation  and  ruin  of  his  beloved 
State. 

Governor  Adams  was  the  finest  looking  horseman  in 
saddle,  when  in  full  uniform,  that  I  ever  saw,  and  the 
best  rider.  He  was  a  gentleman  thoroughly  educated, 
and  possessed  a  highly  cultivated  mind.  He  spoke  well 
and  Avrote  well.  He  was  a  most  cordial,  warm-hearted 
and  devoted  friend.  Some  time  before  his  death,  he  be- 
came a  member  and  communicant  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.  I  remember  this  information  was  given  me,  at 
the  time,  by  his  son-in-law,  ISlr.  Brooks,  and  I  w^rote  in 
reply,  expressing  my  gratification,  saying,  "he  was  now^ 
prepared  to  live  or  die."  He  died  a  Christian,  and  had 
lived  a  noble-hearted  gentleman. 

Governor  Adams  paid  a  visit  to  Europe  in  the  latter 
part  of  his  life,  and  spent  some  time  in  England.  He 
was  very  much  pleased  with  the  country  and  society 
there.  He  said  to  me,  that  there  was  a  feeling  of  loyalty, 
fideUty  and  respect  shown  by  the  laboring  classes  in  Eng- 
land to  the  gentry  and  property-holders,  which  we  did 
not  meet  with  anywhere  in  the  United  States.  In  other 
words,  said  he,  "there  is  no  envy,  jealousy  or  prejudice 
against  a  man  because  he  is  a  gentleman  and  wears  a 
broadcloth  coat."  This  is,  no  doubt,  true,  but  it  is  owing 
to  the  dependence  of  the  laboring  class  on  the  property- 
holders  and  the  cheapness  of  labor.  In  this  country, 
every  one  is  independent,  and  knows  that  his  honest  labor 
will  support  himself  and  family.  He  therefore  feels  more 
secure  in  resenting  any  sujjercilious  assumption  or  disre- 
sj)ect  on  the  part  of  the  broadcloth. 


James  H.  Adams.  157 

In  January,  1854,  Governor  Adams  sent  me  for  pub- 
lication a  very  long;  article  against  giving  the  election  of" 
President  and  Vice-President  to  the  people.  In  his  let- 
ter he  says :  "  I  am  very  sorry  I  differ  from  you  on  this 
question,  for  I  have  no  doubt  yours  is  the  strong  and 
popular  side,  and  mine  weak  and  unpopular.  I  some- 
times think  I  am  destined  to  live  and  die  in  a  minority. 
I  wish  I  had  the  happy  instincts  of  two  of  my  brother 
Senators,  whom  I  will  not  mention,  but  leave  you  to  con- 
jecture. ******  J  g^j^  very  much 
obliged  to  you  for  your  complimentary  notice  of  me.  It 
is  more  than  I  really  deserve,  although  Mrs.  Adams 
thinks  it  all  true  and  just ;  and  after  reading  it,  wondered 
why  it  was  so  many  persons  speak  harshly  of  Colonel 
Perry.  I  said  to  her,  take  care,  when  the  Colonel  re- 
plies to  me  on  the  electoral  question,  you  don't  sing  a 
different  tune.  In  one  thing  you  have  done  me  justice. 
I  have  never  allowed  political  differences  to  interfere  with 
my  personal  feelings.  I  sincerely  hope  this  electoral 
question  will  not  in  the  least  disturb  our  relations,  for  I 
assure  you,  decide  it  as  you  may,  in  itself  it  is  a  matter 
of  no  great  consequence  whether  the  Legislature  or  the 
people  make  the  electors.  A  Baltimore  or  Philadelphia 
Convention  makes  the  President. 

December  26th,  1854,  Governor  Adams  wrote  me  as 
follows:  "Yesterday's  mail  brought  me  The  Southern 
Patriot.  I  can't  say  that  I  looked  for  your  notice  of  my 
inaugural  with  fear  and  trembling,  but  I  did  so  with 
some  anxiety.  I  rose  from  its  perusal  with  my  feelings 
(if  that  were  possible)  of  regard  and  attachment  for  you 
strengthened ;  and  I  cannot  suffer  the  occasion  to  pass 
mthout  reciprocating  the  kind  feelings  you  have  ex- 
pressed for  me.  I  am  sure  no  political  issue  can  ever 
arise  that  will  shake  my  confidence  or  lessen  my  esteem 
for  you.  It  would  have  been  a  source  of  great  gratifi- 
cation if  we  could  have  thought  alike  poKtically,  but  as 
that  has  not  always  been  the  case,  we  must  hope  that 
time  may  narrow  the  gap  between  us,  and    in  the   mean 


158  Jamks  H.  Adams. 

time  ('(uitiimt'  to  he  t'rit'iuls.  I  Imve  oue  cousolation  in 
the  retrospwt  (ifiny  jniblic  life:  1  never  dcserteil  a  friend, 
and  never  intentionally  deeeival  an  opponent.  *  *  * 
There  is  one  subject  of  public  })olicv,  about  Avliich  I  am 
sure  we  do  not  differ,  and  that  is  poj^ular  education.  In 
this  matter  I  acknoAvledge  myself  behind  no  one.  I  am 
ready  and  ^v^lling'  to  pay  double  my  present  taxes,  to 
carry  out  any  scheme  which  may  be  matured  for  enlight- 
ening the  ignorant  poor.  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  your 
views,  at  your  leisure,  on  this  subject.  I  shall  have,  if  I 
live,  to  bring  the  matter  before  the  Legislature.  Do  aid 
me  Anth  vour  reflections  and  suo-ii'cstions  in  relation  to 
our  free  school  system.  The  system  needs  improvement, 
but  how,  is  the  difficulty." 

He  wrote  me  in  June  following,  and  said:  "I  have  no 
fears  that  you  will  forget  your  promise  to  give  me  your 
views  on  our  free  school  system.  I  write  now  to  make 
an  additional  recpiest  of  you,  and  I  hope  you  will  ha\'e 
time  to  give  me  the  benefit  of  your  experience  and  inves- 
tigation on  the  subject.  I  design  to  bring  before  the 
Legislature  in  ni}-  message  the  subject  of  a  revision  of  the 
statute  laws  of  the  State.  I  have  seen  the  revised  code 
of  Xorth  Carolina,  and  think  we  need  something  of  the 
kind  in  our  State.  Our  statutes  at  large,  it  strikes  me, 
do  not  answer  tlie  end  designed.  At  jjr&sent,  it  takes  a 
lawyer  of  large  practice  and  study  to  tell  what  is  law  in 
South  Carolina;  whereas,  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  Acts 
of  Assembly  which  are  of  force  should  be  so  arranged 
and  indexed  that  any  citizen  of  education  and  sense 
could  readily  turn  to  them  and  decide  for  himself  his 
rights,  duties  and  responsibilities  under  the  laws  of  the 
land.  Will  you,  at  your  leisure,  do  me  the  kindness  to 
give  me  your  views  as  to  the  necessity  and  value  of  such 
a  work  ?  If  you  approve  of  the  design,  will  you  suggest 
the  details  of  a  plan  for  carrying  it  out  ?  While  a  ma- 
jority of  the  Legislatiu-e  might  be  in  favor  of  the  thing 
generally,  I  am  satisfied,  unless  a  practical  plan  is  sul> 
mitted,  nothing  will  be  done." 


JOHN  H.  MEANS. 

I  met  Governor  Means,  the  lirst  time  I  ever  had  the 
pleasure  of  making  his  acquaintance,  at  the  wedding  of 
his  cousin,  Robert  Means,  who  married  the  daughter  of 
Chancellor  Thompson.  The  Governor  was  then  a  stu- 
dent in  the  South  Carolina  College,  and  quite  stout.  He 
beaime  more  so  in  after  life.  I  frequently  met  him  ui 
Columbia  afterwards,  but  made  no  intimate  acquaintance 
with  him  till  about  the  time  he  was  elected  governor. 
He  was  a  few  years  my  junior,  and  was  elected  whilst  a 
very  young  man.  He  had  been  a  brigadier-general  of 
cavalry,  but  had  not  been  much  in  political  life.  His 
talents,  high-toned  character,  and  kind,  cordial  manner, 
made  him  a  great  favorite  with  the  younger  members  of 
the  Legislature,  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 

The  ancestors  of  the  Means  family  in  Fairfield,  South 
Carolina,  which  was  a  very  numerous  and  highly  es- 
teemed and  respectable  one,  came  from  Massachusetts, 
and  were  of  Irish  descent.  They  were  connected  with 
the  Appletpns  and  other  wealthy  families  of  Boston. 
Whilst'  w^alking  with  Robert  Means,  of  Alabama,  the 
cousin  of  the  governor,  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  he 
pointed  to  an  old  cemetery,  in  the  midst  of  the  city,  near 
the  Tremont  House,  and  told  me  that  some  of  his  ances- 
tors lay  buried  in  the  inclosure.  He  also  called  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Appleton,  and  left  his  card,  saying  that  on 
a  former  visit  to  the  city,  he  had  been  kindly  received  by 
the  family  as  a  kinsman,  and  most  hospitably  entertained. 

I  have  never  met  in  life  a  nobler  gentleman  than 
Governor  Means.  He  was  the  soul  of  honor,  generous, 
magnanimous,  and   cordial   in  his  friendship.     His  soul 


IHO  John   H.  Means. 

and  lioart  were  in  unison  witli  tlie  size  of  his  large  and 
manly  person.  J  shall  never  forget  tlie  deep  interest 
and  painiiil  anxiety  Avhich  he  once  manifested  to  settle  a 
dififieulty  between  two  of  his  most  intimat(!  friends,  Col. 
Preston  Brooks  and  ]\Ir.  English,  then  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  from  Kiehland  or  Fairfield.  English  and 
Brooks  were  brothers-in-hnv,  and  had  both  married 
nieees  of  the  governor.  In  a  moment  of  ])assion  and 
impulse,  a  very  serious  diffieulty  had  oecurred  between 
those  two  gentlemen.  Late  in  the  evening.  Governor 
Means,  in  company  with  Mr.  English,  called  at  my  room 
in  Columbia,  to  consult  with  me  on  a  point  of  honor,  in 
the  adjustment  of  the  difficulty.  Mr.  English  was  un- 
certain as  to  the  propriety  of  the  course  suggested  by 
Governor  Means.  The  governor  stated  to  me  in  the 
presence  of  Mr.  English,  that  both  these  gentlemen  were 
his  dear  friends,  and  he  had  the  highest  opinion  of  their 
honor  and  courage.  It  was  distressing  and  heart-rending 
to  him,  to  see  them  in  their  present  attitude  towards  each 
other.  He  asked  me  if  it  was  not  proper  and  honorable 
when  a  gentleman,  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  had 
done  an  imprudent  act,  to  make  the  amende  honorable 
by  saying  so  to  the  party  aggrieved.  I  replied  that  it 
was  not  only  proper  and  honorable,  but  magnanimous  ; 
and  that,  according  to  the  rules  of  chivalry,  he  was  bound 
to  do  so,  especially  where  the  parties  had  been  friends 
and  knew  each  other's  honor  and  spirit.  The  difficulty 
was  ultimately  referred  to  Colonel  Wade  Hampton,  Sr., 
and  myself,  and  adjusted. 

Governor  Means  was  a  most  intense  secessionist,  and 
whilst  Governor  of  the  State  lie  took  great  pains  in  re- 
vicAving  the  militia,  all  over  the  State,  to  make  war 
speeches,  and  urge  the  wisdom  and  constitutionahty  of 
separate  State  secession.  He  took  great  pleasure  in  tell- 
ing me,  at  a  ball  given  him  in  Greenville,  that  he  had 
been  all  through  the  State,  from  seaboard  to  the  moun- 
tains, and  from  the  great  Pedee  to  the  SaA'annah  River, 
and   he   assured    nie  that  the    people   (^-erywhere  were 


John  H.  Means.  161 

almost  unanimous  for  seceding  from  the  Federal  Union. 
He  further  said  that  the  election  then  pending  for  mem- 
bers to  a  Southern  Convention  of  the  States  would  shoAV 
conclusively  what  the  public  sentiment  of  South  Carolina 
was.  I  good  humoredly  replied  to  him,  that  I  agreed 
with  his  excellency,  in  thinking  that  the  pending  election 
of  delegates  would  determine  what  jjublic  opinion  was  on 
the  subject  of  secession,  but  that  I  was  as  equally  confi- 
dent as  he  was,  that  he  had  misunderstood  and  been  de- 
ceived as  to  the  popular  feeling  of  the  great  masses 
throughout  the  State.  I  said  the  time  had  not  then 
come  for  the  revolutionary  ball  to  be  set  in  motion,  ex- 
cept through  a  convention  of  the  Southern  States.  The 
people  of  South  Carolina  were  disposed,  for  the  present, 
to  act  with  the  other  States.  I  knew  if  all  the  Southern 
States  met  in  convention,  the  Union  was  safe,  and  sepa- 
rate secession  would  be  repudiated.  The  Governor  told 
me  I  never  was  more  mistaken  in  all  my  life,  and  that 
when  we  met  in  the  State  convention,  afler  the  election  I 
would  acknowledge  it. 

The  election  for  delegates  to  a  Southern  convention  was 
carried  by  the  co-operation ists  all  over  the  State,  against 
the  secessionists.  When  I  met  Governor  Means  in  the 
State  convention,  which  had  been  called  by  the  Legis- 
lature, and  to  which  I  had  been  elected,  long  before  the 
election  of  delegates  to  a  Southern  convention,  he  said  to 
me,  "You  had  fjrmed  a  better  judgment  of  the  popular 
feeling  of  the  State  than  I  had,  and  I  do  not  know  how 
I  could  have  been  so  much  deceived."  I  told  him  that 
I  could  account  for  it  very  readily.  His  associates  all 
over  the  State  were  secessionists.  They  were  out-spoken 
and  over-sanguine,  while  the  co-operationists  and  union 
men  felt  some  delicacy  in  declaring  their  sentiments,  and 
kept  silent,  out  of  respect  to  his  feeling  and  sentiments. 
He  then  said  to  me  that  the  most  cordial  and  flattering  re- 
ception he  had  met  anywhere  in  the  State  was  at  Green- 
ville, where  the  co-operationists  and  union  men  carried 
the  election    four  to  one.     At  Bruton's  old  field,  in  the 


162  John   H.  Means. 

upjXT  jnirt  of  (inriiville,  tliey  applaiulod  most  vehe- 
mently Avhen  lie  ooncliulccl  his  address  to  the  regiment. 

Wlien  the  State  C.onvention  assembled  Governor 
Means  was  elected  President  of  the  Convention  unani- 
mously. In  the  former  State  convention,  which  as- 
sembled Avhilst  Governor  Hamilton  filled  the  executive 
chair,  he  was  elected  president  at  its  first  session  ;  and 
when  it  reassembled  Governor  Hamilton  resigned  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  place  to  Governor  Hayne,  who 
had  been,  in  the  mean  time,  elected  Governor  of  the 
State.  In  organizing  the  committee  of  "  Twenty-one  "  to 
prepare  business  for  the  Convention,  Governor  Means 
did  me  the  honor  to  place  my  name  on  the  committee. 
Some  of  his  secession  friends  Avere  greatly  surprised,  that 
an  old  union  delegate  should  be  placed  on  a  committee  to 
prepare  for  seceding  from  the  Union.  It  was  well  un- 
derstood, however,  that  the  election  of  delegates  to  a 
convention  of  the  Southern  States,  had  check-mated  the 
State  Convention  in  their  proposed  secession  move- 
ment. Although  there  were  two-thirds  of  the  members 
of  the  State  Convention  in  favor  of  seceding,  they  could 
not  dare  take  such  a  step  when  two-thirds  of  the  people 
of  South  Carolina  had  just  voted  against  it.  I  twitted 
the  members  a  good  deal  for  refusing  to  secede.  I  told 
them  that  they  had  a  large  majority  of  the  Convention, 
and  could  secede  if  they  wished  ;  that  the  co-operation 
members  had  pledged  themselves  to  go  with  the  State  if 
they  did  secede,  and  I  saw  no  difficulty  in  the  way. 
One  morning  I  went  to  the  Convention  very  early  and 
saw  Governor  Seabrook  reading  the  Southern  Patriot. 
He  said  to  me  that  he  was  greatly  amused  at  my  remarks 
urging  the  State  Convention  to  secede. 

When  the  committee  of  "  Twenty-one  "  met.  Judge 
Cheves,  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  submitted  a  re- 
port of  four  or  five  lines,  asserting  the  right  of  secession, 
but  declining  to  exercise  the  right  at  present.  He  said, 
after  his  report  was  adopted,  that  if  any  member  of  the 
committee  had  any   resolutions  to  submit  to  the  conven- 


John  H.  Means.  163 

tioii  lie  hoped  they  would  first  present  them  to  the  coiii- 
mittee.  Thereupon  I  read  to  the  committee  a  preamble 
and  resolutions,  which  I  intended  to  submit  to  the  Con- 
vention. General  Gregg  also  read  a  paper  which  he  had 
prej^ared.  After  Judge  Cheves  had  submitted  his  re- 
port to  the  Convention,  I  read  my  preamble  and  reso- 
lutions, and  General  Gregg  read  his  paper.  The  Hon. 
Barnw^ell  Rhett,  who  was  not  a  member  of  the  Con- 
vention, but  the  prince  of  secessionists,  came  to  me  and 
said,  after  I  had  read  the  paper  submitted,  that  it  was  a 
little  remarkable  that  an  old  Union  man  should  take 
higher  ground  in  regard  to  our  rights  than  the  other 
members  of  the  committee. 

When  the  State  did  secede,  in  1860,  Governor  Means 
came  to  the  dinner  table,  where  I  was  sitting  in  Congaree 
Hotel,  and  said  it  was  a  matter  of  some  public  interest 
to  know  what  course  I  would  now  pursue.  I  replied 
that  I  had  been,  for  the  last  thirty  years,  trying  to  keep 
the  State  from  committing  so  dreadful  and  suicidal  a 
folly ;  but  all  my  life-long  efforts  had  proved  unavailing, 
and  "they  were  now  all  going  to  the  devil  and  I  would 
go  mth  them  !"  The  Governor  said  he  was  glad  to 
have  my  compauy,  but  denied  the  road  I  said  we  were 
going  to  travel.  I  explained  further  and  said  that  honor 
and  patriotism  required  every  citizen  to  defend  his 
country,  or  leave  it.  I  could  not,  and  would  not  leave 
my  native  State,  therefore  I  must  defend  her,  be  the 
consequences  what  they  might. 

After  the  war  commenced.  Governor  Means  raised  a 
regiment  and  was  for  some  time  encamped  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  State,  near  my  friend  and  neighbor.  Colonel 
Charles  J.  Elford  and  his  regiment.  Colonel  Elford  told 
me,  that  whenever  he  met  Governor  Means,  I  was  sure 
to  be  the  subject  of  conversation,  and  that  he  always  ex- 
pressed himself  in  the  kindest  terms  towards  me.  He 
went  with  his  regiment  to  Virginia  and  was  there  killed 
in  battle.  He  told  me,  whilst  organizing  his  regiment, 
that  he  entered  the  service  from  a  sense  of  duty  and  was 


164  John   H.  Means. 

actuated  hv  no  ainl)itioiis  views  of  lioiior  and  iriory.  He 
said  he  had  lono;  since  thrown  aside  his  ambition,  and  if 
he  had  any  letit  it  was  for  his  son,  and  his  success  in 
life.  But  as  he  had  been  tlie  warm  advocate  of  secession, 
which  liad  brought  on  the  war,  lie  thought  honor  and 
patriotism  required  him  to  volunteer  his  services  in  de- 
fence of  the  doctrines  he  had  advocated. 

I  was  in  Charleston  once  wkh  Governor  Means,  and 
he  proposed  we  should  go  to  the  theatre  that  evening. 
When  we  entered,  a  troupe  of  ballet  girls  were  in  full 
blast,  fifteen  or  twenty  of  them  dancing  in  very  short 
costumes.  The  governor  turned  to  me  as  we  seated  our- 
selves, and  said,*  with  a  smiling  grin,  peculiar  to  him, 
"  How  do  you  like  the  exliibition  ?"  I  replied  I  had 
never  seen  ''so  many  legs  before  in  all  my  life."  He 
was  convulsed  at  the  expression,  and  often  repeated  it 
with  great  glee.  I  was  riding  with  Governor  Means  all 
through  the  town  of  Columbia  a  lovely  morning  in  May, 
before  the  war.  He  called  my  attention  to  the  beautiful 
gardens  filled  with  flowers,  and  the  houses  in  the  centre 
of  the  garden,  and  said  Columbia  ought  to  be  called  "the 
city  of  flower  gardens."  I  thought  the  expression  a 
very  happy  and  appropriate  one.  It  was  then,  but  it 
would  not  be  now.  Sherman's  march  was  alike  destruc- 
tive to  houses  and  gardens. 

Governor  Means  never  studied  a  profession,  but  de- 
voted himself  to  his  planting  interest  in  Fairfield.  He 
was  a  gentleman  of  a  highly  cultivated  mind,  fond  of 
literature,  and  a  fine  belles-lettres  scholar,  writing  and 
speaking  well.  He  was  fond  of  society  and  the  company 
of  his  friends.  His  death  was  deeply  mourned  by  all 
who  knew  him,  as  a  noble  gentleman,  a  sincere  friend,  a 
sterling  patriot,  and  heroically  brave.  He  was  the  model 
of  a  country  gentleman  of  the  old  regime,  without  fear 
and  without  reproach. 


FRANCIS    W.   PICKENS. 


FRANCIS  W.  PICKENS. 

I  became  acquainted  with  Governor  Pickens  early  in 
life.  We  were  born  in  the  same  district,  Pendleton,  now 
Oconee  County.  He  was  the  son  of  Governor  Andrew 
Pickens,  and  the  grandson  of  General  Andrew  Pickens, 
of  revolutionary  fame,  a  sterling  patriot  and  one  of  the 
purest  and  best  of  men.  Gen.  Pickens,  in  the  latter  part 
of  his  life,  retired  to  the  mountains  and  died  at  his  resi- 
dence on  Tomassee,  now  owned  by  Mr.  Jones. 

Governor  Andrew  Pickens  was  a  colonel  in  the  regular 
army  during  the  war  of  1812  and  1815.  He  moved  to 
Alabama  in  1819,  and  liis  son  Francis  was  first  sent  to 
the  Athens  College,  in  Georgia,  and  afterwards  to  the 
South  Carolina  College,  where  he  graduated  mth  high 
reputation  for  talents,  honor  and  energy.  Mr.  John  C. 
Calhoun,  who  was  his  relation,  regarded  him  as  the  most 
promising  young  man  in  the  State  at  that  time.  He 
read  law  at  Edgefield,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  soon 
afterwards  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  He  then 
succeeded  Governor  McDuffie  in  Congress,  where  he  es- 
tablished a  high  character  as  a  statesman  and  debater. 
He  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress  and  went  into  the  State 
Senate,  where  I  served  with  him  several  sessions.  He 
was  then  appointed,  by  President  Buchanan,  Minister  to 
Russia,  and  after  his  return  home,  he  was  elected  Gover- 
nor of  South  Carolina,  just  before  the  breaking  out  of 
the  civil  war, 

I  will  not  speak  in  detail  of  Governor  Pickens'  ser- 
vices in  the  Legislature,  in  Congress,  at  the  Court  of  St. 
Petersburg,  and  in  the  executive  chair  of  the  State,  as 
Mr.  Youmans,  of  Edgefield,  has  already  written  a  most 


l<i(>  Francis   W.  Pickkns. 

adinirahli'  sketch  of  his  life,  character  and  piiMic  services, 
and  to  which  1  refer  the  reader.  INly  purpose  in  writing 
this  rcniiniscencc  of  Governor  Pickens  is  to  publisli  the 
letters,  or  some  of  them,  whidi  I  had  the  honor  of  re- 
ceivinji;  from  him,  and  wliich  are  eminently  entitled  to 
public  interest.  They  were  written,  it  is  true,  as  strictly 
confidential ;  but  since  the  death  of  Gov.  Pickens,  I  see 
no  impropriety  in  publishing  them.  Indeed,  one  of  his 
letters  from  St.  Petersburg,  relative  to  the  histoiy  of  his 
grandfather.  General  Pickens,  is  worthy  of  being  em- 
bodied in  the  history  of  the  country. 

Whilst  Provisional  Governor,  I  urged  Gov.  Pickens 
to  become  a  candidate,  in  Edgefield,  for  a  seat  in  the 
State  Convention,  and  told  him  what  President  Johnson 
said  to  me,  that  he  would  pardon  all  whom  I  wished  to 
be  members  of  that  convention.  In  consequence  of  my 
earnest  entreaties,  the  Governor  was  elected,  and  served 
in  the  convention.  I  sent  the  President  a  list  of  the 
members  to  be  pardoned.  He  sent  me  promptly  par- 
dons for  all  of  them,  except  Gov.  Pickens.  He  said 
nothing  about  him.  I  telegraphed  the  omission,  and  re- 
ceived no  reply.  The  Governor  became  very  uneasy, 
and  wrote  me  several  long  letters.  In  one  of  these  letters 
he  inclosed  a  letter  to  President  Johnson.  I  wrote  the 
President  again,  and  stated  \vhat  he  had  said  to  me,  and 
Avhat  I  had  told  Gov.  Pickens  on  his  being  a  candidate 
for  the  convention.  But  President  Jolmson  remained 
silent,  and  not  a  word  in  reply  could  I  get  from  him. 
This  looketl  very  ominoiLs.  ]\Irs.  Pickens  became  deeply 
interested,  and  came  to  Columbia  to  see  me  on  the  sub- 
ject. At  her  instance,  I  sent  a  long  telegram  to  the 
President  once  more ;  but  could  not  draw  his  fire.  Gov. 
McGrath  was,  at  this  time,  in  one  of  the  Federal  prisons, 
and  daily  expecting  to  see  Gov.  Pickens.  But,  although 
no  pardon  came  for  Gov.  Pickens,  he  was  not  sent  to 
keep  Gov.  McGrath  company  in  his  Federal  prison. 

Gov.   Pickens  was  thrice  married,  and  all  his  wives 
were  most  beautiful,  lovely  and  a('com])lished  ladies.  The 


Francis   W.  Pickens.  167 

last  oue,  whom  he  married  on  the  eve  of  his  setting  out 
for  Russia,  was  pre- eminent  for  her  beauty,  intelligence 
and  accomplishments.  She  was,  most  deservedly,  the 
belle  of  the  South.  The  Governor  left  children  by  each 
marriage,  but  no  sou  to  inherit  his  illustrious  name,  and 
hand  it  do^vn  to  future  ages.  This  is  to  be  deeply  re- 
gretted, for  a  name  so  distinguished  in  three  successive 
generations,  should  not  be  lost,  but  live  in  posterity. 

The  character  of  Governor  Pickens  was  high-toned 
and  honorable.  By  nature,  he  w^as  impressive  and  im- 
petuous, and  yet  he  had  a  great  deal  of  prudence  and 
caution  in  his  composition.  He  was  proud  of  his  an- 
cestry, and  jastly  so;  and  he  was  conscious  of  his  own 
talents  and  abilities.  We  differed  widely  in  our  politics, 
but  our  social  relations  were  always  most  cordial  and 
friendly,  as  will  be  seen  by  his  letters  to  me,  both  at 
home  and  abroad. 

Columbia,  Saturday,  .June  27,  1857. 

My  Dear  Sir: — In  looking  over  the  morning  paper,  I  see  an  ex- 
tract from  you  speaking  kindly  of  me  in  relation  to  my  refusal  of 
the  Russian  mission.  I  desire  to  state  briefly  the  reasons  which  in- 
duced me  to  decline  it. 

Judge  Butler's  death  has  thrown  much  confusion  into  the  State, 
and  if  1  could  contribute  to  placing  South  Carolina  in  close  com- 
munion and  intimate  councils  with  her  sister  iStates  of  the  South,  I 
feel  that  I  would  be  doing  some  good.  It  is  time  that  she  should 
be  raised  above  the  provincial  and  isolated  views  of  great  questions 
in  which  the  South  have  a  common  interest  and  a  common  destiny. 
I  was  in  the  Senate,  from  Edgefield,  when  I  refused  the  mission  to 
England,  and,  if  you  recollect,  the  Blufton  move  was  at  that  time 
made,  and  I  thought,  from  the  names  connected  with  it,  that  it  would 
be  far  more  serious  than  it  was.  When  Governor  Hammond  in- 
roduced  his  premature  and  ill-judged  message,  I  felt  it  my  duty  to 
introduce  resolutions  into  the  Senate  repudiating  the  move,  for 
which  I  was  bitterly  denounced,  and  even  McDuffie  wrote  a  letter 
to  Colcock,  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  denouncing  my  resolutions  ; 
but  still  I  passed  them  by  a  unanimous  vote,  on  the  yeas  and  nays. 
I  was  then  peculiarly  situated,  for  I  had  attended  the  great  Demo- 
cratic Convention,  1844,  at  the  urgent  request  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  and 
had  a  full  and  confidential  intervietv  with  Mr.  Polk  before  I  would 
address  the  convention  at  Shelbyville.  That  interview  was  satis- 
factory, and  I  wrote  Mr.  Calhoun  from  Mr.  Polk's  library,  and 
showed  the  letter  to  Mr.  Polk,  and  he  and  Mr.  Calhoun  thoroughly 


168  Francis   W.  Pickens. 

understood  each  other,  and  we  went  fully  into  tiie  canvass.  The 
details  of  this  interview,  and  the  conditions,  will  make  a  great 
point  in  the  history  of  parties,  if  ever  published,  and  they  will  be. 
I  understand  Col.  Benton  has  published  a  part  of  it,  as  far  as  he 
knew.  Suffice  at  present  to  say,  that  it  placed  me  in  a  very  pecu- 
liar position,  and  my  private  honor,  as  well  as  public  duty,  com- 
pelled me  to  take  the  course  I  afterwards  did,  in  relation  to  his  ad- 
dres-s  on  the  Texas  question  and  war,  etc.,  etc.,  and  I  thought,  too, 
it  placed  Mr.  Calhoun  in  the  same  position.  But  I  merely  allude 
to  it  now  to  let  you  know  that  this  was  the  real  reason  I  declined 
the  Federal  office  he  tendered  me.  I  wished  to  stand  in  the  State 
untrammeled,  so  as  to  be  able  to  indicate  truth  and  principle,  even 
if  I  lost  position  in  the  State.  The  history  of  public  events  after 
that  you  are  acquainted  with.  Now,  as  to  the  present  mission 
which  I  recently  refused,  I  was  induced  to  do  so  just  because  I  have 
no  taste  for  Federal  office  ;  and  secondly,  I  thought  I  owed  it  to  my 
friends  to  stand  by  them  in  the  struggle  for  the  Senatorship,  which, 
1  felt,  it  was  deeply  important  should  be  in  the  hands  of  a  man  who 
would  aid  in  placing  the  State  in  her  proper  relations  to  her  sister 
States  of  the  South,  as  well  as  to  the  Constitution  and  the  Union 
under  it. 

The  final  settlement  of  the  slave  holding  race,  is  the  greatest 
problem  to  be  worked  out  under  our  complicated  system  of  govern- 
ment. It  will  require  enlarged  statesmanship  and  high  nerve  ro 
carry  our  institutions  through  the  conflicts  that  must  arise  in  the 
progress  of  events.  What  we  want,  at  present,  is  wise  considera- 
tion and  thorough  knowledge.  For  the  first  time  in  thirty  years 
the  South  is  united.  Ultraism,  under  existing  circumstances,  would 
lead  to  division,  and  division  will  prove  our  ruin.  We  have  the 
Executive  with  us,  and  the  Senate,  and  in  all  probability  the  House 
of  Representatives,  too.  Besides,  we  have  repealed  the  Missouri 
Bill,  and  the  Supreme  Court,  in  a  decision  of  great  power,  has  de- 
clared it  and  all  kindred  measures,  on  the  part  of  the  Federal 
Government,  unconstitutional,  null  and  void.  So,  that  bi'fore  our 
enemies  can  reach  us,  they  must  first  break  down  the  Supreme 
Court,  change  the  Senate  and  seize  the  Executive,  and,  by  an  open 
appeal  to  revolution,  restore  the  Missouri  line,  repeal  the  fugitive 
slave  law,  and  change,  in  tact,  the  whole  Government.  As  long  as 
the  Government  is  on  our  side,  1  am  for  sustaining  it  and  using  its 
power  for  our  benefit,  and  placing  the  screws  upon  the  thumbs  of 
our  opponents,  so  as  to  make  them  feel.  As  long  as  we  are  in  the 
Union,  I  conscientiously  believe  it  to  be  our  duty  to  discharge 
faithfully  and  manfully  all  our  obligations  to  the  Constitution  and 
the  Federal  Union  under  it.  We  owe  it  to  ourselves;  we  owe  it  to 
posterity  ;  we  owe  it  to  our  power  as  a  great  people  amongst  the 
nations  of  the  earth  in  progressive  civilization,  to  save,  if  possible, 
the  Constitution  and  our  institutions,  as  a  common  blessing  to  man- 
kind. These  are,  and  ever  have  been,  my  firm  convictions.  If  our 
opponents  reverse  the  present  state  of  things,  seize  the  power  of 
Government,  change   the   issues   and  overthrow  the  Constitution, 


Francis   W.  Pickens.  169 

then  I  am  for  war.  At  present,  i  am  for  standing  by  the  Govern- 
ment, and  compelling  them  to  move  on  the  offensive.  Heretofore, 
we  have  complained  of  grievances,  and  when  we  moved  that  was 
division  amongst  us,  so  now,  when  they  complain,  and  are  com- 
pelled to  move,  they  must  be  divided.  In  part,  the  division  now  at 
the  North  is  deep  and  bitter,  and  it  is  between  capitalist3  and 
laborers,  and  as  population  increases,  and  becomes  so  dense  as  to 
press  society  down  into  its  different  strata,  this  difference  will  grow 
deeper  and  wider  every  year.  On  the  contrary,  we  are  forced  to 
union,  if  we  make  no  ill-judgments.  And  the  vast  increase  in 
price  of  all  Southern  productions,  together  with  the  great  un- 
bounded value  of  slave  property,  has  added  immensely  to  Southern 
power.  The  game  is  a  delicate  one,  and  the  stake  great,  but  with 
enlarged  statesmanship  and  firmness,  we  can  play  it,  and  we  can 
win  it.  Let  us  keep  cool  and  keep  united.  What  we  want  at 
present  is  trusty  sentinels  to  walk  with  a  steady  tread  around  the 
battlements  of  our  entrenched  camp ;  but  we  want  no  premature 
opening  of  any  masked  battery.  If  we  do,  it  will  only  expose  the 
division  of  the  camp  within,  and  invite  the  entrance  of  the  foe 
through  some  remote  gate,  or  perhaps  over  an  open  break  in  the 
walls.  We  want  men  in  position  who  have  character  enough  at 
home,  and  firmness  enough,  to  resist  unwise  councils  and  premature 
moves  amongst  ourselves,  as  well  as  integrity  enough,  and  firmness 
enough,  to  resist  aggression  abroad,  too.  If  there  be  a  necessity, 
and  we  are  deeply  and  permanently  wronged,  there  lives  no  man 
in  South  Carolina  who  will  go  further  than  I  will,  or  who 
will  risk  his  property  and  life  sooner  than  I  will,  to  vindicate  our 
rights  or  defend  our  honor.  But  while  I  feel  this,  and  I  trust  my 
life  has  shown  it,  I  at  the  same  time  will  never  bend  to  the  dicta- 
tion of  any  clique  at  home,  or  heed  ill-judged  or  premature  coun- 
cils from  those  who  see  but  one  side  of  a  great  question,  and  do  not 
care  to  comprehend  the  complicated  relations  we  bear  to  our  sister 
States  of  the  South,  as  well  as  our  relations,  under  the  Federal 
compact,  to  the  States  of  the  North.  I  trust,  too,  my  course  in  the 
State  has  shown  this,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  I  have  never  made 
myself  what  the  world  calls  popular.  I  scorn  to  wear  the  trammels 
of  ofl5ce,  if,  at  the  same  time  time,  I  have  to  wear  the  livery  of  any 
clique.  I  trust  I  shall  never  avoid  the  responsibility  of  any  duty  ; 
but  I  vastly  prefer  the  proud  consciousness  of  private  independence, 
to  wearing  the  insignia  of  power,  if  conferred  by  those  who  claim 
to  be  my  masters. 

I  think  I  understand  the  interests  of  the  slave-holding  race  ;  it 
has  been  my  study  for  twenty-five  years.  And  yet,  I  saw  to-day,  in 
a  paper  handed  me,  published  in  Anderson,  called  the  T)'ue  Carolin- 
ian, a  paper  I  never  heard  of  before  in  my  life,  it  stated  by  the 
editor  that  I  was  not  to  be  trusted  on  the  vital  question  (meaning 
slavery).  I  did  not  dream  before  that  any  man  in  South  Carolina 
doubted  me  on  that  point.  I,  born  with  the  institution  over  me  for 
three  generations  on  both  sides,  not  to  be  trusted  !  At  one  time  I 
owned  largely  over  500  negroes.     I  have  two  daughters  married, 


170  Fkancis    W.  Pi<  ki;ns. 

and  f^olil  :i  place  last  year,  with  the  negroes  uii  it,  and  of  course  my 
settlements  to  my  daughterri,  and  this  sale,  have  reduced  the  num- 
ber much  below  that  now.  1  once  bought,  in  184G,  113  negroes  in 
Alabama,  and  actually  moved  65  of  them,  in  1859,  to  South 
Carolina ;  and  I  doubt  if  any  other  man,  in  South  Carolina,  ever 
did  purchase  negroes  in  the  West  and  move  them  here.  If  I  had 
mo,ved  to  Alabama,  as  my  father  once  urged  me  very  much  to  do,  I 
could  have  been  worth  twice  as  much  as  I  am.  He  died  in  Mis- 
sissippi, and  left  me  a  plantation  and  negroes  in  that  State,  and  also 
one  on  the  Alabama  river,  near  Selma.  I  sold  both  plantations 
and  moved  every  negro  to  South  Carolina.  And .  yet,  I  not  true  to 
South  Carolina  and  slavery?  The  editor  says,  also,  I  "desire 
Federal  ofBces,  and  let  me  take  them."  I  can  say  proudly,  (and  I 
say  so  to  you  alone,  not  to  the  public,)  that  I  have  refused  more 
high  Federal  offices  than  any  man  ever  did  in  America. 

1  write  you  freely  and  frankly,  as  is  my  habit  to  those  I  esteem 
as  gentlemen  ;  and  although  we  have  differed  widely  in  politics, 
yet  I  have  ever  esteemed  you  as  an  independent  gentleman.  I  saw 
what  you  had  kindly  said  of  me  in  your  paper,  and  I  thought  I 
would  write  you  this  freely  ;  of  course,  intending  it  to  be  entirely 
private  between  us  ;  but  if  you  ever  choose  to  use  the  facts,  or  if 
any  person  feels  the  slightest  interest  in  my  principles,  you  can  in- 
form them  in  the  most  authentic  manner.  But  as  far  as  I  am  per- 
sonally concerned,  I  desire  as  little  notoriety  as  is  possible. 

The  omnibus  is  waiting.  In  very  great  haste,  but  respectfully, 
and  truly  yours. 

F.  W.  PICKENS. 
Hon.  B.  F.  Perry. 

St.  Petersburg,  April  24,  1859. 
il/i/  Dear  Sir: — You  will  pardon  me  for  writing  you  on  a  subject 
in  which  I  feel  a  deep  interest.  I  am  told  it  is  intended  that  like- 
nesses, or  busts,  in  some  shape  or  form,  are  to  be  placed  in  niches 
or  places,  about  our  new  Capitol  at  Columbia,  of  our  distinguished  ^'r 
men  in  the  State.  If  so,  and  it  is  intended  to  place  Sumter  and 
Marion  there,  as  they  ought  undoubtedly  to  be,  I  do  hope  they  will 
also  place  General  Pickens,  too.  They  were  undoubtedly  the  great- 
est partisan  generals  ever  produced  in  the  United  States,  consider- 
ing their  means  and  the  theatre.  There  has  always  been  an  un- 
accountable i)rejudice  in  the  lower  country,  which  has  prevented 
tliem  always  from  doing  justice  to  General  Pickens.  You  see  it  in 
that  picture,  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  of  the  battle  of  the  Eutaws. 
All  the  officers  are  pointed  out,  except  General  Pickens,  and  yet 
he  and  Marion  jointly  commanded  all  the  militia  of  the  Southern 
States  at  that  battle  ;  and  General  Pickens  was  actually  shot  from 
his  horse  by  a  musket  ball,  just  at  the  close  of  the  battle,  which 
struck  him  right  in  the  breast,  and  his  life  was  only  taved  by  the 
ball  being  somewhat  spent,  and  glancing,  hit  his  sword  buckle  and 
dented  it  into  his  breast  bone,  which  ever  after  hurt  him  through 
life.     He  was  picked  up  by  the  soldiers  as  dead,  but  soon  recovered. 


Francis   W.  Pickens.  171 

Yet  he  is  not  mentioned  in  the  picture  in  the  Senate   by  White ; 
while  others,   as  low  as  captains,  are  conspicuously  put  forward. 
True,  he  was  some  ten   years  younger  than  Marion  or  Sumter,  but 
if  you  consult  the  histories  of  the  day — Ramsey's,  "  Lee's  Memoirs 
of  the  Southern  Campaign,"  or  "  Judge  Johnson's  Life  of  Green" 
— you  will  see  that  he  acted  more  in  concert  with  the  authorities  of 
Congress   than  either  of  the  others  ;  and,  whether  from  accident  or 
otherwise,  he   was   in   most   all   the   important   battles.     Lee   and 
Johnson  both  gave  a   full  and  particular  account  of  the  siege  and 
capture  of  Augusta,  one  of  the  most  important  events  in  the  South- 
ern war ;    and   by  looking  into   them,  you  will   see  that  General 
Pickens  acted  his  part  nobly,  and  the  city  surrendered  to  his  com- 
mand, after  it  had  been  for  two  years  in  possession  of  the  British 
and  Tories.     And  when  Col.  Brown  was  captured  there,  it  was  Gen. 
Pickens  who  saved  him  from  the  fury  of  the  Georgia  militia,  under 
Clark,  and  others,  who  would  have  murdered  him  for  his  brutali- 
ties  practiced   on  the  Georgians.     Gen.  Pickens  placed   him  in  a 
boat,  under  the  guard  of  tifteen  armed  men  detached,  and  sent  him 
to  Savannah,  under  his  special  protection,  which  saved  him  ;  and 
yet,  a  Tory  and  British  writer  accused  him  of  inhumanity,  etc.     He 
fought  often  before  the  Star  Eedoubt,  at  "  96,"  and  had  a  brother, 
captain   of  a   company,  shot  down  before  the    Fort,  and  another 
brother   captured  by  the  British,  who  delivered  him  over  to  the 
Tories,  who  actually  went  with  him  into  Columbia  county,  Georgia, 
and  then  gave  him  to  the  Indians,  who  had  been  to  Augusta,  and 
they  actually  tied  him  on  a  pile  of  lightwood,  and  burnt  him.     He 
manoeuvred   between  Col.  Boyd  and  Maj.  Hamilton,  and  prevented 
their  junction  at   Vienna,  on   Savannah  River ;   and  after  Boyd 
crossed  at  the  (Cherokee  Ford,  about  17  miles  above  Petersburg,  he 
too  crossed  at  Vienna,  and  joined  Colonel  Darby  and  Col.  Clark, 
of  Georgia,  with   their  forces,  and  they  immediately  voted   him 
commander    of  all  the  forces ;  and  he  pursued  Boyd,  and    fought 
that  glorious  battle  of  Kettle  Creek,  which  had  such  an  important 
bearing  in  breaking  up  the  Tories  in  the  upper  part  of  Soutli  Caro- 
lina.    He  commanded  at  the  Cowpens,  as  you  are  well  aware,  and 
Morgan   would  not  have  fought  then  but  for  his  counsel  and  aid, 
as  you  will  see  from  Lee's  memoirs,  confirmed  by   Col.   Huud's 
notes.     I  enclose  you  an  account  of  that  battle,  extracted  from  Lee, 
Ramsay  and  Johnson,  and  you  will  see  what  part  he  acted,  given 
by  those  who  wrote  at  the  time.     You  there  see  that  a  whole  bat- 
talion  of  British  surrendered  to  him  personally.     Col.   Johnson, 
who  was  his  aid,  afterwards  Governor  of  Georgia,  says  they  refused 
to  surrender  to  any  but  him.  Congress  voted  him  a  sword,  which  I 
now  have,  etc.     Yet,  when  they  celebrated  the  battle,  a  year  or  so 
ago,  they   scarcely  mentioned   his  name  ;  and,  I   understand,  that 
when   the   monument   was   erected,  I  believe   by  the  Washington 
Company,  from  Charleston,  some  objected  to  having  his  name  in- 
scribed upon  the  monument. 

Please  keep  this  account  of  the  battle  I  now  enclose  from  Lee, 
Ramsay  and  Johnson,  and  if  I  return  ever,  plexse  enclose  it  back 


172  Francis   W.  PifKENs. 

to  rue,  or  give  it  to  Mr.  James  N.  Upscoiiib,  now  at  Chappel's 
Depot,  to  keep  for  me.  Gen.  Pickens,  after  the  battle,  went  with 
Morgan  to  join  Green,  who  was  retreating  before  Cornwallis,  and 
owing  to  some  interruption,  or  dispute,  left,  under  sanction  of  Gov. 
Rutledge,  to  come  back  to  South  Carolina,  to  raise  the  country,  as 
it  had  been  overrun  for  three  years  before.  It  was  then  he,  with 
his  command,  fell  in  with  Col.  Pyle's  men,  on  Haw  River,  N.  C, 
in  the  niglit,  and  cut  300  of  them  to  pieces,  while  they  were  crying, 
"God  save  the  King,"  as  they  supposed  Gen.  P's.  forces  were  Col. 
Tarlton's.  Tarlton,  in  his  account  of  the  Southern  Campaign,  says 
the  most  murderous  fire  he  ever  encountered  was  the  fire  of  the 
militia  under  Col.  Pickens,  at  the  Cowpens.  Gov.  Swain,  now 
President  of  Chappell  Hill  University,  wrote  me  he  had  found  out 
that  when  Gen.  Davidson  died,  that  the  Brigade  he  commanded, 
from  the  Mecklenburg  section,  elected  Gen.  Pickens  a  General  over 
them  to  command,  and  he  was  actually  a  General  in  both  States.  This 
was  done  because  of  their  Presbyterian  attachment  to  Gen.  Pickens, 
I  suppose.  I  will  here  state  a  remarkable  fact,  that  Gen.  Pickens 
never  received  a  cent  of  pay  from  the  State  or  Congress  for  any 
service  as  Captain,  Major,  Colonel  or  General  through  the  whole 
war.  Young  Mr.  Black,  whom  your  Legislature  appointed  agent 
for  Revolutionary  claims,  at  Washington,  was  the  first  to  inform  me 
of  the  fact,  and  has  examined  the  records  at  Columbia  fully,  and 
certified  the  fact ;  and  it  is  also  a  fact,  that  he  is  the  only  officer,  of 
any  grade,  who  did  not  receive  any  pay  whatever.  There  are 
hundreds  of  certificates  of  his  on  record  upon  which  other  officers 
received  their  pay,  but  there  is  no  evidence  whatever  of  his  ever 
having  taken  a  cent  himself.  If  you  see  him  you  can  know  the  full 
facts,  and  if  so,  it  is  a  very  remarkable  fact.  You  are  aware  that  he 
was  the  first  man  who  conquered  the  Cherokee  Indians,  the  most 
powerful  uf  all  Southern  tribes.  He  fought  them  with  mounted 
men,  and  cutlasses  made  in  the  country  by  common  blacksmiths, 
and  then  he  held  the  Treaty  of  Hopeweli,  the  3d  article  of  which 
fixes  the  boundary  of  the  nation  according  to  his  own  will,  without 
their  consent.  By  that  Treaty,  the  Western  part  of  South  Carolina 
was  obtained,  etc.  And  it  is  upon  that  Treaty  that  the  Georgians 
claimed  their  right  to  the  eminent  domain,  allowing  the  Indiana 
only  the  right  of  temporary  possession,  denying  them  independent 
sovereignty,  etc.,  etc.  He  wa§  offered  a  commission,  by  Washing- 
ton, in  the  Northwestern  army,  raised  for  a  general  war  against  the 
Indiana ;  but  he  refused  it  at  that  time.  Jefferson  appointed  him  a 
Commissioner,  to  run  the  line  between  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  and 
he  actually,  with  others,  did  run  it.  And  I  furnished  Gov.  Swain, 
when  Governor  of  North  Carolina,  the  original  commission,  on 
parchment,  and  his  notes  ;  and  he  wrote  me  that  it  saved  to  North 
Carolina  possessions  worth  $700,000.  He  was  one  of  the  Commis- 
sioners to  run  and  settle  the  line  between  Geoigia  and  South  Caro- 
lina. He  held  the  Treaty  of  Milledgeville,  by  which  large  territories 
beyond  the  Ochmulgee  were  ceded  to  Georgia.  He  held  the  Treaty 
of  Huntsville,   also  with   the   Indians ;    and   also   the   Treaty   of 


Francis  W.  Pickens.  173 

Natches,  in  Mississippi  ;  and  also  went  down  the  Cumberland 
riyer,  Louisiana,  before  any  white  man,  and  was  often  shot  at  from 
the  banks,  by  Indians ;  and  he  examined  all  of  Georgia,  Alabama 
and  Mississippi,  when  all  was  an  Indian  country ;  and  I  have  notes, 
of  three  volumes,  in  his  own  hand- writing,  as  to  the  whole  country. 
You  know  that  part  of  his  life  when,  with  old  Col.  Cleveland,  of 
Greenville,  he  exercised  unbounded  authority  over  the  upper  coun- 
try of  South  Carolina,  administering  justice,  law,  and  everything 
else.  He  sat  in  the  first  County  Court  ever  held  at  the  old  Block 
house,  near  Abbeville  Court  House.  And  my  father,  a  child,  drew 
the  hrst  jury  that  ever  was  impanneled  in  Abbeville  District,  after 
Independence. 

He  was  elected  to  Congress  1793,  and  went  to  Congress  1794,  when 
he  resigned  his  office  of  Major  General,  held  from  South  Carolina, 
from  the  Revolution  until  then  ;  and  in  his  letter  of  resignation  to 
the  Legislature,  he  recommended  that  they  should  appoint  Capt. 
Wm.  Buller,  his  successor,  and  they  actually  did  so,  which  is  the 
reason  .Judge  Butler  was  named  after  him,  as  he  was  born  soon  after 
that  event.  You  are  aware  that  the  test  vote  on  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  was  taken  in  the  Legislature  of  South  Carolina, 
on  the  question  as  to  the  call  of  a  convention,  and  it  passed  by  but 
one  majority,  I  think.  He  was  in  that  Legislature,  anri  often  a 
member ;  and  was  elected  again,  without  his  knowledge,  in  1812, 
and,  at  great  age,  took  his  part  for  the  war ;  and  was  oflfered,  or 
rather  requested  to  becoHje  Governor,  but  he  declined  upon  the 
averred  ground  that  the  struggle  should  be  left  to  younger  and  more 
active  men. 

I  mention  these  general  outlines  of  his  life,  because  I  really  think 
they  are  not  generally  known,  and  as  far  the  lower  country  is  con- 
cerned, never  have  been  appreciated ;  and  I  do  really  think  it  will 
be  cruel  injustice  in  them,  if  they  refuse  him  a  place  in  the  new 
Stale  House,  and  place  Sumter  and  Marion  there.  I  write  you  this 
freely,  because  I  have  entire  confidence  in  the  purity  and  integrity 
of  your  character,  and  because  I  know  you  feel  a  deep  and  proper 
interest  in  all  that  interests  the  honor  or  the  rights  of  the  upper 
country.    , 

It  is  natural  that  they  should  feel  great  animosity  to  me,  for  I 
have  ever  scorned  to  take  counsel  from  the  cliques  and  clubs  who 
have  of  late  years  governed  our  State ;  but  I  think  it  hard  they 
should  visit  it  upon  one  who  served  his  country  and  periled  his  life 
in  her  cause,  through  the  Revolution,  aud  never  asked  or  received 
a  single  cent  for  his  services  as  an  officer,  at  any  time,  and  is  the 
only  officer  who  did  not  take  his  pay.  Out  of  our  State,  in  the 
general  history  of  the  country,  his  name  and  Marion's  and  Sumter's 
are  entwined  together  as  the  great  partisan  officers  of  that  day,  and 
they  ought  to  go  together  in  our  State.  (  I  trust  I  am  not  trespassing 
too  much  on  your  kindness  to  call  your  earliest  attention  to  this 
subject,  for  our  low  country  friends  will  act  together,  in  advance, 
and  fix  upon  the  names  to  go  into  that  State  House,  before  you  in 
the    upper  country  think  of  it.^  The  historical  papers  of  our  sec- 


171  FllANriS     W.    PiCKKXS. 

tion  were  not  properly  attended  to.  My  father,  who  was  named 
Andrew,  too,  early  in  life  accepted  the  commission  of  Colonel,  of 
the  10th  Regiment,  in  tiie  Regular  army,  and  was  in  those  severe 
campaigns  on  the  Canada  frontier  in  the  war  of  1812  ;  and  before 
the  close,  you  know,  was  called  home  by  being  elected  Colonel  in 
the  State  Brigade,  S.  C,  raised  for  her  own  defence,  and  Judge 
Huger  was  elected  its  General,  and  Drayton  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  ; 
and  then,  1817,  was  elected  Governor,  and  immediately  afterwards 
settled  his.estates  in  Alabama,  1818  and  1819.  So,  he  was  called 
off,  and  my  grandfather's  papers  were  entirely  neglected,  being  left 
at  his  death,  1817,  in  possession  of  his  youngest  son,  .Joseph,  who 
took  no  interest  in  such  matters.  He  too  went  off  to  Alabama,  in 
1818,  and  I  found  the  papers,  accidentally,  in  1830,  after  they  had 
been  lying  in  a  loose  trunk,  in  Grisham's  store,  in  Pendleton,  all 
scattered  and  lost.  Whether  yon  approve  or  disapprove  of  any- 
thing I  have  suggested,  I  hope  if  will  all  be  strictly  confidential,  so 
far  as  my  name  is  concerned.  Your  uniform  kindness  and  disin- 
terested support  of  me  have  filled  my  breast  with  a  grateful  remem- 
brance I  shall  carry  with  me  to  my  grave.  You  will  recollect  that 
I  was  the  first  and  only  Representative  from  South  Carolina,  who, 
at  the  extra  session  of  1837,  supported  the  Independent  Treasury, 
and  spoke  for  it.  Gen.  Thompson  can  tell  you  all  about  it.  I  was 
then  denounced  as  having  gone  over  to  the  general  Democratic 
party,  under  Van  Buren,  and  deserting  South  Carolina,  by  those 
who  have  ever  assumed  to  themselves  the  exclusive  guardianship 
of  the  honor  and  rights  of  our  State.  So,  too,  when  I  was  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  1839,  I  made  a  report  indi- 
cating the  honor  and  rights  of  our  common  country  upon  the  burn- 
ing of  the  Caroline  and  the  McLeod  affair,  and  the  eastern 
boundary,  etc.;  and  again  the  Mercury  and  Carolinian,  then  under 
Pemberton,  both  were  out  upon  me  because  I  was  national,  and 
looked  to  Federal  power.  When  I  introduced  and  passed  my  reso- 
lutions in  our  State  Senate,  against  Hammond's  message,  and 
Blufton  uitraism,  you  recollect  how  I  was  abused  again  by  the  same 
party.  Then,  again,  when  I  thought  it  due  to  our  honor,  we  should 
sustain  Polk  and  the  war  with  Mexico,  I  was  denounced  as  an 
enemy  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  devoted  to  the  national  Democracy, 
etc.,  etc.  So,  again,  in  1846,  when  I  openly  sustained  Cass  against 
Taylor,  after  Mr.  Calhoun  and  the  whole  delegation  in  Congress 
had  written  home  to  urge  the  State  to  go  for  Taylor,  I  was  put  down 
as  a  traitor  to  the  State.  And  in  1856,  at  our  State  Convention,  to 
send  delegates  to  Cincinnati,  you  recollect  how  I  was  abused  by  the 
same  desperate  faction.  I  only  mention  these  facts  or  points  to  show 
the  cause  of  the  deep  opposition  to  me — it  is  because  I  have  ever 
been  in  their  way.  And  although  the  State  has  ever  turned  the 
back  of  her  hand  to  me,  yet  I  feel  a  proud  satisfaction  in  knowing 
that  she  has  ever  sustained,  in  the  end,  exactly  the  position  I  as- 
sumed, and  for  which  I  was  at  first  denounced.  Even  in  the  late 
defeat  of  myself,  the  very  men  who  were  put  up  to  put  me  down, 
have  occupied  exactly  the  same  conservative  grounds  that  I   stood 


Francis   W.  Pickens.  175 

upon,  and  if  anything,  go  further  than  I  ever  did.  I  hope  they  may 
be  able  long  to  control  the  State,  and  give  a  more  common-sense 
and  dignified  course  to  South  Carolina  than  she  has  pursued  for 
years  past.  Of  one  thing  I  feel  proudly  conscious,  that,  at  no  period 
of  my  life,  have  I  ever,  for  a  single  moment,  felt  one  passing  emo- 
tion separate  from  her  honor  and  her  rights.  I  have  no  complaints 
to  make,  and  have  not  a  single  unkind  feeling  towards  any  human 
being  who  has  ever  wronged  me  in  public  matters. 

I  do  not  know  what  plan  will  be  adopted  by  the  Legislature  as  to 
the  matter  of  placing  likenesses  of  her  distinguished  men  in  the  new 
State  House,  but  if  any  likeness  should  be  wanted,  I  have  one  at 
Edgefield,  painted  by  Sully,  in  the  Revolutionary  uniform  exact. 

I  have  found  Europe  much  as  I  expected — their  magnificent 
public  buildings  and  palaces,  their  superb  gardens  and  parks,  their 
gorgeous  churches  and  display  of  wealth  and  power,  are  all  such  as 
one  might  expect,  from  powerful  and  despotic  governments.  On 
the  surface,  to  a  stranger,  everything  appears  very  captivating  ;  but 
when  I  turn  from  these  things,  and  think  of  the  degradation  and 
helplessness  of  the  great  masses,  my  heart  sickens.  Their  vast  stand- 
ing armies,  their  hereditary  nobility,  their  established  churches  and 
privileged  priesthood — all  fasten  themselves  upon  the  body  politic, 
and,  like  great  vampires,  fan,  while  they  suck  the  life-blood  of  their 
writhing  victims.  Since  I  have  looked  more  into  the  internal 
workings  of  European  governments,  my  feelings  turn  with  fonder 
and  prouder  afiection  for  my  own  home  and  beloved  country  than 
they  ever  have  done  before  through  life.  True,  we  may  have  heavy 
and  grievous  evils,  but  all  government  is  evil,  and  the  only  reason 
we  submit  to  it  is  that  it  prevents  a  greater  evil,  which  is  anarchy ; 
and,  at  last,  government  is  but  a  choice  of  evils.  You  may  prove 
any  government  full  of  wrong,  but  then  there  lies  behind  that  a  far 
greater  question,  and  that  is,  what  kind  of  government  have  you  to 
put  into  its  place,  and  you  must  demonstrate  that  it  is  better  than 
the  one  you  have.  I  see  Seward,  in  one  «f  his  speeches,  triumph- 
antly holds  up  France  and  Germany  as  illustrating  the  progress 
that  had  been  made  under  governments  resting  upon  what  he  calls 
a  "  free  labor  basis."  Would  to  God  that  he,  and  all  such,  could 
be  made  to  feel  the  blessings,  practically,  of  French  fraternity  and 
French  equality,  under  the  most  gaiding  government  that  God  ever 
cursed  the  human  family  with.  And  if  these  visionary  fanatics, 
who  are  now  willing  to  drive  our  government  to  dissolution  and  ruin, 
under  the  vain  theory  of  ideal  equality,  could  be  made  to  live  for  a 
few  years  under  German  sentimentality,  and  their  schools  of  empty 
ideality,  it  woidd  cool  their  ardor,  and  they  would  be  ready  to  ex- 
claim, "  God  save  us  from  that  progress  which  is  developed  under 
governments  resting  upon  a  'free  labor  basis.'  " 

I  see  there  appears  to  be  much  confusion  in  our  politics,  both 
National  and  State.  I  trust  that  all  factious  divisions  will  yet  be 
healed,  and  that  Providence  will  guide  and  direct  us,  as  He  had  done 
heretofore,  and  save  the  institutions  of  our  country,  as  a  coiuinon 
blessing  for  mankind. 


17()  Francis   W.  Pkkkns. 

I  see  Col.  Orr  is  freely  spoken  of  as  President.  Judging  from 
what  I  saw  at  llie  Cincinnati  Convention,  I  ncn  satisfied  no  man 
(South  had  such  popuhirity  in  the  Government  Northwest ;  and  if 
they  could  carry  his  election,  it  would  go  very  far  to  heal  over  all 
bitter  feelings,  and  restore  confidence  and  repose  to  the  South.  I 
do  trust  that  our  friends  will  take  the  earliest  and  most  decided 
steps  in  South  Carolina  for  a  full  and  able  representation  at  Charles- 
ton, in  1860.  I  have  no  doubt  that  many  who  before  opposed  going 
into  convention  will  now  make  a  merit  of  sustaining  this  ;  but  our 
friends,  who  bore  the  odium  of  the  former  convention,  ought  to 
move  in  advance,  so  as  to  claim  it  as  their  own  move.  I  think,  I 
would  go  so  far  as  to  propose  early,  that  each  battalion,  in  every 
regiment,  shall,  at  the  battalion  musters,  ballot  and  elect  four  dele- 
gates, to  meet  in  a  Congressional  District  Convention,  and  there 
nominate  delegates  to  a  general  State  Convention,  at  Columbia,  for 
the  purpose  of  being  efTectively  represented,  and  making  it  emi- 
nently a  popular  move  amongst  the  great  masses  of  the  people;  and 
in  convention  at  Columbia,  not  only  appoint  your  ablest  men  to  go 
to  Charleston,  but  make  a  liberal  and  handsome  arrangement  to 
receive  the  delegates  in  1860,  from  all  the  States  in  the  Union,  in 
the  finest  and  most  cordial  manner.  This,  too,  would  enable  us  to 
discuss  the  propriety  of  giving  the  election  to  the  people  in  our 
State,  as  elsewhere,  and  bring  it  prominently  up  all  over  the  State, 
and  it  would  give  us  men  in  each  battalion  who  would  take  an  active 
part  in  the  practical  government  of  the  State  upon  popular  princi- 
ples. I  wrote  my  friend,  Judge  McGrath,  of  Charleston,  very  fully, 
and  enclosed  what  I  had  written  as  far  back  as  23d  October  last,  on 
politics  generally  ;  and  if  you  see  him,  you  are  at  liberty  to  read  it 
if  you  desire  any  such  thing,  as  a  friend  of  mine.  Of  course,  I 
write  you  confidentially. 

We  have  been  received  with  great  kindness  by  the  Court  and 
society  here,  and  the  Russians  are  very  friendly  to  our  country  and 
people.  As  to  war  in  EiUrope,  I  do  not  feel  authorized  to  say  much, 
but  there  is  a  strong  probability  of  war  at  present.  It  is  hard  to 
avoid  it. 

Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  present   me,  most  respectfully,  to  Mrs. 
Perry,  and  accept  for  yourself  the  regard  and  esteem  of 
Yours,  very  truly, 

F.  W.  PICKENS. 
Hon.  B.  F.  Perry,  Greenville,  S.  C. 

St.  Petersburg,  Nov.  21,  1859. 
My  Dear  Sir :  I  wrote  you  a  long  letter  many  months  since, 
intended  to  be  entirely  private.  I  have  never  heard  if  you  received 
it  or  not,  and  I  fear  it  was  so  long  it  was  an  intrusion  upon  your 
time  ;  but  your  uniform  kindness  and  generous  support  of  me,  on 
various  occasions,  prompted  me  to  write  fully,  as  I  felt  cordially 
thankful  to  you  for  many  acts  which  I  had  no  right  to  expect  from 
you.  The  enclosure  I  made  you,  relating  to  the  battle  of  the  Cow- 
pens,  I  desire   you   to   keep  for  me,  or   to  enclose  to  Maj.  J.  N. 


Francis  W.  Pickens.  177 

Lipscomb,  Chappell's  Depot  P.  O.,  Greenville  R.  R.  I  rejoice  to 
see  in  our  State  more  reasonable  and  wiser  counsels  prevailing  than 
for  years.  When,  as  presiding  officer  of  the  convention  in  Colum- 
bia, to  send  delegates  to  Cincinnati,  I  first  took  moderate  grounds, 
because  the  great  issues  in  the  country  had  changed,  I  was  furiously 
denounced,  and  afterwards  defeated  on  the  grounds  of  my  conserva- 
tism and  supposed  connection  with  the  national  Democracy  ;  but  I 
now  see  these  our  State  has  put  in  power  taking  precisely  the  same 
position  for  which  I  was  repudiated.  So  it  was  on  the  Independent 
Treasury,  in  1837.  I  was  the  only  member  from  South  Carolina 
who  voted  for  it,  and  was  denounced  for  it ;  and  so,  too,  in  the 
Mexican  war,  and  support  of  Polk,  etc. 

The  recent  terrible  outbreak  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  its  far  more 
terrible  disclosures  and  ramifications,  are  enough  to  fill  the  breasts 
of  all  good  men  with  forebodings  as  to  the  future.  If,  after  what 
has  developed,  the  Northern  people  do  not  rise  up  and  rebuke  with 
condemnation  the  vile  and  base  demagogues  who  have,  by  their 
infamous  countenance,  led  the  country  to  the  brink  of  ruin,  then 
indeed  will  the  South  be  forced  to  protect  herself.  If,  however,  the 
Conservative  men  of  the  North  do  their  duty  promptly,  it  may  be 
the  means  of  confirming  the  confidence  of  the  South  in  their  in- 
tegrity and  ability.  But  if  they  fail  to  do  their  duty  now,  then,  it 
is  idle  to  deny  the  fact — we  are  on  the  eve  of  great  events,  and  the 
deepest  responsibility  will  rest  upon  us  all  in  the  South.  We  must 
honestly  endeavor  to  save  the  Constitution  and  the  Federal  Union, 
if  it  can  be  done  with  safety ;  and  if  not,  then  we  must,  in  any 
event,  save  ourselves  and  our  homes.  I  see  many  Northern  papers 
and  politicians  urge  the  most  extreme  measure,  but  we  must  be 
guarded  in  receiving  their  advice,  for  they  only  look  on  it  to  be  used 
as  the  means  of  triumphing  over  their  local  opponents  and  parties, and 
care  not  as  to  the  real  wisdom  of  Southern  moves,  or  its  efiects  upon 
our  interests.  We  cannot  look  upon  it  in  the  light  of  mere  partisan 
warfare,  we  must  treat  it  as  involving  our  peace  and  final  destiny  ;  and 
in  this  point  of  view,  it  will  require  profound  statesmenship.  We 
must  make  it  the  basis  of  systematic  and  concerted  moves  to  secure 
permanent  and  fixed  guarantees  for  the  future,  if  the  Union  is  to  be 
permanently  saved.  Our  people  have  been  educated  to  compacts 
and  chartered  rights,  as  a  substitute  for  revolution  and  the  sword. 
We  must  have  some  additional  covenant.  Our  sister  border  States 
of  the  North  must  not  be  used  as  places  or  nurseries  to  organize 
systematic  plans  of  fierce  and  bloody  invasions,  and  to  keep  the 
Southern  States  in  constant  trepidation  and  aggravation.  It  must 
be  made  their  duty  to  enforce  a  police  in  their  own  borders  against 
border  invasions  of  their  sister  States.  We  will  have  to  demand  a 
convention  of  the  States,  under  the  Constitution,  if  the  Northern 
people  now  refuse  to  act  promptly,  and  to  put  down,  by  decided 
moves,  their  desperate  leaders  and  their  counsels ;  and  propose  a 
new  covenant  or  league,  to  cover  and  protect  our  peace  and  safety. 
And  if*thi8  be  denied  us,  then  we  can  stand  before  the  world,  and 
posterity  justified  in  this  last  great  appeal.     I  merely  throw  out 


17H  Francis   \V.  Pickens, 

these  hints,  as  ihe  siihject  is  just  now  before  me,  ffom  reviewing  the 
papers  yesterday,  which  have  given  me  the  full  details  of  the  Har- 
per's Ferry  afl'air — that  has  taken  me  entirely  by  surprise.  I  am 
lost  in  astonishment  at  its  ramifications.  I  trust,  however,  Provi- 
dence, who  has  so  often  heretofore  taken  care  of  ns  in  eventful 
periods,  will  guide  and  direct  events  so  as  to  bring  order  out  of 
apparent  confusion,  and  finally  preserve  our  beloved  country  as  a 
blessing  for  many  generations  yet  to  come.  After  viewing  more 
closely  the  dreadful  evils  incident  to  all  European  governments, 
my  heart  turns  with  fonder  attachment  lo  my  own  country  and  her 
institutions  than  it  has  ever  before  felt.  And  while  I  feel  the 
deepest  stake  that  the  honor  and  the  peace  of  the  South  shall  be 
preserved,  and  will,  without  hesitation,  risk  my  life  and  my  fortune 
for  it,  yet  I  also  feel  a  deep  desire  to  preserve  our  great  compact  of 
Union,  and  the  common  country,  which  our  common  forefathers 
made  at  a  momentous  period  in  human  aflfairs.  I  trust  it  can  be 
done,  but  it  is  for  the  North  to  act  now,  and  to  do  their  part ;  and 
if  they  fail,  it  will  be  then  our  duty  to  act.  Pardon  me  for  intrud- 
ing any  opinions,  but  deeply  impressed  as  I  am  with  the  critical 
state  of  affairs  in  our  country,  from  the  circumstances  to  which  I 
have  alluded,  I  could  not  helj)  speaking  freely. 

I  have  written  Gen.  Cass  I  cannot  remain  here  longer  than  next 
summer.  I  would  have  returned  this  winter,  but  for  the  extremely 
uncertain  state  of  things  in  Europe,  and  I  did  not  like  to  appear 
even  indiflferent  lo  events  that  might  happen,  in  which  my  country 
would  feel  a  great  stake  ;  I  did  not  desire  to  follow  any  one  personal 
interest  or  indulgence. 

Everything  is  still  very  doubtful  in  Europe,  and  the  Congress 
will  not  make  it  more  settled,  I  fear. 

If  you  have  leisure,  I  should  be  happy  to  hear  from  you,  at  any 
time. 

Yours,  very  truly  and  sincerely, 

F.  W.  PICKENS. 
Hon.  B.  F.  Perry. 


JAMES  L.  ORR. 

The  suddeu  death  of  Governor  Orr,  withiu  a  few 
weeks  after  his  arrival  at  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg  as 
American  Minister,  was  a  great  shock  to  his  family  and 
friends  in  South  Carolina  ;  and  I  may  well  say  to  the 
people  generally  of  the  United  States.  He  was  exten- 
sively known  throughout  all  the  States,  as  a  member  of 
Congress,  a  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives ; 
and  there  were  few  public  men  of  his  time  and  age,  who 
had  more  warm  personal  friends.  He  was  so  kind  and 
generous  in  his  nature,  so  cordial  and  conciliating  in  his 
manners,  so  unpretending  and  unassuming  in  his  in- 
tercourse with  his  felloAV-men,  that  it  was  difficult  for 
any  one,  even  a  political  opponent  or  enemy,  to  know 
him  intimately  without  loving  him.  I  knew  him  well 
for  upward  of  thirty  years ;  we  were  generally  opposed 
in  politics,  once  rivals  for  popular  favor,  and  yet  there 
were  very  few  of  all  my  friends  and  acquaintances  for 
whom  I  had  a  more  sincere  friendship.  He  was  bold, 
frank  and  open  in  all  of  his  conduct,  public  and  private. 

Governor  Orr  was  a  man  of  distinguished  ability, 
and  filled  all  the  high  positions  to  Avliich  he  was  elevated 
with  credit  to  himself  and  honor  to  his  country.  As  a 
member  of  the  Legislature,  a  member  of  Congress, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Senator  of  the 
Confederate  States,  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  Judge 
of  the  Eighth  Judicial  Circuit  of  the  State,  and  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  to  the  Russian  Court,  he  distinguished 
himself  for  his  ability,  integrity,  patriotism  and  impar- 
tiality. As  a  judge,  he  was  eminently  successftil,  with- 
out that  learning  and  study  in  his  profession  which 
many   of  his  predecessors  on   the  bench   |>ossessed.     T 


ISO  James  L,  Orr. 

liuve  often  said  that  in  the  course  of  more  than  forty 
yeai's  at  the  har,  1  luive  never  apjKiiired  before  a  judge 
who  had  more  clearness  of  perception,  greater  wisdom 
in  judgment,  or  more  impartiality  and  dis])atch  in  the 
discharge  of  his  judicial  duties.  His  mind  was  practical 
and  jiosscsscd  a  fund  of  common  sense  rarely  met  with 
in  great  and  learned  men.  He  thoroughly  understood 
human  nature,  and  this  knowledge  was  of  vast  import- 
ance to  him  in  the  administration  of  justice.  Indeed,  it 
was  the  key  to  his  success  through  life.  There  are  many 
men  of  great  learning,  and  great  talents,  with  great  vir- 
tues, who  never  succeed  in  life,  because  they  are  un- 
acquainted with  hiunan  nature,  and  have  only  a  small 
modicum  of  common  sense.  Lock's  form  of  govern- 
ment for  South  C^aroliua  shows  how  utterly  impracti- 
cable and  useless  may  be  all  the  wisdom  and  learning  of 
a  philosopher  without  common  sense  and  a  knowledge 
of  mankind. 

As  a  wise,  far-seeing  and  successful  politician,  I  never 
knew  the  superior  of  Judge  Orr.  When  first  elected  to 
Congress,  and  the  only  time  he  had  opposition,  he  es- 
poused the  cause  of  General  Taylor,  and  secured  the 
support  of  almost  the  entire  Whig  party,  though  he  had 
been  and  still  was  a  Democrat,  but  as  soon  as  he  entered 
Congress,  and  saw  General  Taylor,  instead  of  acting  with 
the  Whigs,  he  adhered  to  the  Democratic  party.  Whilst 
in  Congress,  the  State  of  South  Carolina  was  for  sepa- 
rate secession,  and  Governor  Orr  went  with  his  State 
until  he  saw  plainly  that  no  other  State  would  follow 
suit,  if  South  Carolina  did  secede.  With  Judge  Butler, 
Senator  Barnwell  and  others,  he  then  formed  a  co- 
operation party,  and  opposed  witli  great  ability  the  folly 
of  separate  State  action.  He  had  the  sagacity  to  see 
that  the  time  had  not  then  arrived  for  the  beginning  of 
the  Revolution.  Whilst  a  Confederate  Senator,  he  saw 
that  our  cause  must  inevitably  fail,  and  he  endeavored 
to  get  the  Confederate  States  to  treat  for  peace,  whilst 
thev   could   make  some   terms.     When    President  John- 


James  L.  Orr.  181 

son's  reconstruction  was  swept  away,  and  Congress  pro- 
posed a  Convention  in  South  Carolina,  to  be  elected  by 
the  negroes.  Governor  Orr  saw  that  another  reconstruc- 
tion was  inevitable,  and  although  at  that  time  Governor 
of  the  State,  and  utterly  opposed  to  unqualified  negro 
suifrage,  he  cast  his  influence  in  favor  of  a  convention. 
I  preferred  to  see  the  State  remain  under  military  rule, 
forever,  rather  than  have  permanently  established  in 
South  Carolina,  "  a  negro,  carpet-bag,  scalawag  govern- 
ment." I  thought,  too,  it  was  bad  enough  to  have  such 
a  government  forced  on  us,  and  that  we  should  not  dis- 
honor ourselves  by  voting  for  it.  Governor  Orr  foresaw 
that  it  must  come,  and  thought  it  better  policy  to  accept 
it !  But  it  is  well  to  remember  that  General  Canby's 
military  government  neither  taxed  us  heavily,  stole  our 
money,  nor  robbed  us,  nor  ran  the  State  in  debt ! 

Governor  Orr  addressed  the  "  Ring,  striped  and 
speckled  Convention"  in  Charleston,  and  gave  them 
much  wholesome  advice.  This  condescension  on  his 
part  was  strongly  commented  on  at  that  time,  but  it  was 
salutary  and  wise.  He  tried  to  benefit  the  State,  and  at 
the  same  time  kept  in  favor  with  the  Radical  party.  In 
consequence  of  this  conciliatory  course  on  his  part,  he 
was  elected  Judge  of  the  Eighth  Judicial  Circuit,  whilst 
he  was  absent  in  the  West.  On  his  return  home,  he 
was  hesitating  as  to  his  acceptance  of  the  office.  Some  of 
his  friends  wrote  to  me  to  exert  my  influence  to  induce 
him  to  accept  the  judgeship  tendered  him.  In  reply, 
I  said  that  I  was  well  aware  of  the  importance  of  his 
accepting  so  far  as  the  public  were  concerned,  but  that  I 
could  not,  in  my  conscience,  ask  a  friend,  and  a  gentle- 
man, to  do  an  act  which  at  that  time  would  dishonor 
him  in  the  estimation  of  a  large  portion  of  the  people  of 
South  Carolina.  I  said  his  conciliation  of  the  Radical 
party  had  been  attributed  to  improper  motives,  and  I 
wished  to  see  him  stamp  as  false  those  insinuations,  by 
refusing  to  accept  the  office.  It  was  always  wise,  not 
only  to  act  properly,  but  to  act  in  such  a  way,  if  jxissihle, 


1.S2  Jamks  L.  Okk. 

as  to  avoid  the;  imputation  of"iiii])ro])ri('tv.  (lovenior  Orr 
foresaw  that  all  this  ])ivjiidice  must  ultimately  abate,  and 
perhaps  wear  out.  His  notions  of  policy  have  proved 
superior  to  all  my  notions  of  honor. 

At  the  time  Judge  Orr  went  on  the  beneh,  the  whole 
State  was  crushed  with  indebtedness,  and  most  of  the 
people  were  insolvent.  With  that  boldness  and  fore- 
sight which  ever  eharac'terized  him,  he  charged  the  juries 
to  find  only  one-half  of  the  debts  sued  on  !  I  was 
shocked  beyond  measure,  at  this  departure  from  law  and 
principle,  and  said  to  the  juries,  that  in  so  finding,  they 
would  disregard  the  law  and  commit  perjury  !  I  carried 
the  jury  with  me  once  or  twice,  but  finally  the  policy 
outweighed  i)rinciple  and  law.  All  the  \erdicts  were 
rendered  accordingly,  and  Judge  Orr  established,  on  the 
Eighth  Circuit,  the  rule,  that  no  creditor  shoidd  collect 
more  than  one-half  the  debt  due  him !  It  may  be  said, 
jierhaps,  with  truth,  that  the  enforcement  of  this  rule  has 
proved  beneficial  to  the  best  interests  of  the  community. 
But  it  has  tended  to  demoralize  public  sentiment. 

I  had  many  earnest  conversations  with  Judge  Orr 
before  he  went  over  to  the  Radical  party.  He  said  to 
me  that  it  A\as  important  for  prominent  men  to  identify 
themselves  with  the  Radicals  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
trolling their  action,  and  preventing  mischief  to  the 
State.  I  replied  to  him  that  if  you  join  a  band  of 
thieves  you  must  act  with  them,  or  they  would  soon  kick 
yon  out  of  their  ranks.  If  you  stole  with  them  you 
would  be  as  bad  as  they  were,  and  if  you  did  not,  you 
would  lose  all  influence  over  them.  He  thought  differ- 
ently, and  when  he  attempted  a  reform  of  the  partv,  by 
the  Bolters'  Convention,  I  reminded  him  of  what  I  had 
said. 

Although  Judge  Orr  was  emphatically  a  great  poli- 
tician, and  ill  no  sense  of  the  word  a  statesman,  vet  I 
knew  that  he  had  the  good  of  his  country  at  heart  and 
would  have  done  nothing  to  injure  the  State.  He  was 
iimbitions,  as  all  great  men  are,  and  always  had  an  eye  to 


James  L.  Ohk.  183 

his  owu  success.  But  he  would  not  have  trampled  on 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  his  country,  to  secure  his  own 
promotion.  A  statesman  is  always  governed  by  prin- 
ciple, and  will  never  sacrifice  principle  to  policy.  He  is 
like  an  honest  man,  in  private  life,  who  would  scorn  the 
idea  of  gaining  millions  by  dishonest  policy.  In  ancient 
history,  we  are  told  that  there  was  a  proposition  sub- 
mitted to  a  statesman  who  declared  that  nothing  would 
be  more  beneficial  to  the  State,  and  yet  nothing  more 
dishonorable !  The  proposition  was  rejected  at  once. 
This  was  statesmanship,  and  not  policy. 

As  an  interesting  companion.  Governor  Orr  had  few 
equals.  He  was  full  of  anecdotes  and  stories,  and  told 
them  with  great  interest.  He  made  himself  agreeable 
to  all  company,  and  in  all  society.  I  visited  Washington 
before  his  election  to  the  Speaker's  chair,  and  there  was 
no  member  of  Congress  more  popular  with  all  sections, 
than  Colonel  Orr.  Wliilst  I  was  there,  he  was  called  to 
the  chair,  in  committee  of  the  whole  House,  and  presided 
over  that  body  for  several  days.  He  did  so  with  so 
much  ability,  promptness  and  dispatch,  that  it  was  then 
determined  to  make  him  the  next  S])eaker  of  the  House. 
But  when  the  election  came  on,  all  the  members  from 
South  Carolina,  except  Governor  Bonham,  refused  to  be 
present  and  \'ote  !  This  defeated  him.  He  wrote  me  a 
long  letter  the  next  day  and  lamented  with  deep  feeling 
the  conduct  of  his  colleagues,  who  had  no  objection  to 
him,  but  did  not  think  it  proper  for  any  South  Caro- 
liniaii,  at  that  time  to  accept  Federal  office  !  At  the 
meeting  of  the  next  Congress,  he  was  elected  Speaker, 
and  no  one  ever  presided  over  the  House  with  more 
ability,  dispatch  and  impartiality,  than  did  Governor 
Orr.  I  may  also  add  that  no  one  in  the  Speaker's  chair 
ever  gave  greater  satisfaction  to  the  members.  Governor 
Orr  at  that  time  was  a  vefv  young  man,  to  fill  the  third  ' 
highest  office  in  the  United  States,  and  I  know  that  it 
was  then  confidently  predicted  that  he  would  some  day 
fill  the  first  office  under  the  sjovernraent  of  the  United 


184  James  L.  Ouit. 

Statc'.'^.  Ho  was  spokeu  of  as  a  caiKlidate  fur  the  Presi- 
dency ill  the  National  Nominating  Convention,  which 
assembled  in  Charleston  in  1860 — a  candidate  on  whom 
all  Democrats  miiilit  harmonize. 

Soon  after  my  a])poiiitment  as  Provisional  Governor, 
Judge  Orr,  in  company  with  several  other  gentlemen, 
went  with  me  to  AVashington,  In  Richmond  it  was 
proposed  to  take  a  steamboat  and  go  by  the  way  of 
Fortress  Monroe.  To  this  Judge  Orr  objected  most 
positively,  and  said  that  he  had  no  idea  of  going  by  that 
Confederate  Prison,  for  he  might  very  soon  be  sent 
there,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  see  the  place.  He  re- 
quested me  in  Washington  to  urge  on  the  President  the 
issuing  of  his  pardon  immediately.  He  said  he  was 
afraid  the  old  fellow  might  die  and  his  promise  would 
be  forgotten.  The  President  told  me  the  Northern 
editors  were  watching  him  like  hawks,  and  if  it  went 
forth  that  he  had  pardoned,  so  soon,  a  Confederate  Sena- 
tor, it  would  be  used  to  his  prejudice.  He  said,  "  Tell 
Colonel  Orr  to  go  home,  and  I  will  send  him  a  pardon 
when  your  State  C\)nvention  meets."  Punctual  to  his 
promise,  the  Presideut  sent  me  the  pardon.  When  I 
handed  it  to  Governor  i)rr,  he  requested  two  or  three  of 
his  friends  to  go  with  him  to  his  room,  and  told  them, 
with  a  serious  face,  that  he  had  just  received  a  paper, 
and  wished  to  consult  them  as  to  his  propriety  of  his  ac- 
cepting the  same.  They  thought  of  course  it  was  a  chal- 
lenge, and  they  began  to  think  of  reasons  which  would 
justify  a  refusal  to  accept  it.  When  the  paper  was  read, 
they  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  he  was  bound  to  ac- 
cept. Judge  Orr  and  myself  ^vere  going  to  Spartan- 
burg shortly  after  his  election  as  governor.  We  had 
stopped  on  the  roadside  to  take  a  lunch,  when  a  little 
boy  came  up.  We  gave  him  a  part  of  our  dinner,  and 
found  the  little  fellow  quite  sharp  and  somewhat  inquisi- 
tive. At  last  Governor  Orr  asked  him  if  he  had  ever 
seen  two  live  governors  at  one  time.  He  replied  that 
he  had  never  seen  one  governor  in  his  life.     Governor 


James  L.  Okr.  185 

Orr  tokl  him  that  we  were  both  governors.  The  boy 
replied,  "  You  can't  fool  me  that  way,"  and  left  us  with 
entire  incredulity.  I  once  heard  Colonel  Chestnut  say 
that  he  was  traveling  through  Virginia  and  stopped  to 
take  a  lunch  under  the  shade  of  a  chestnut  tree,  when  a 
countryman  came  up  and  partook  of  his  lunch,  and  also 
a  glass  of  brandy.  As  they  were  about  separating  the 
countryman  said  he  would  like  to  know  his  name.  The 
colonel  replied  that  his  name  was  Chestnut.  The  old 
man  said,  "  Come,  don't  poke  your  fun  at  me ;  you  have 
been  very  kind,  and  I  really  wish  to  know  your  name." 
He  was  as  incredulous  as  the  Spartanburg  boy. 

Governor  Orr  was  an  able  debater,  and  spoke  well. 
He  had  a  clear,  sharp,  ringing  voice,  and  always  fluent 
as  a  public  speaker.  On  the  stump  he  was  very  efficient, 
and  had  a  fimd  of  anecdotes  which  he  told  well.  Wlien 
Governor  Means  was  reviewing  the  militia  in  this  Con- 
gressional District,  and  making  speeches  in  favor  of  se- 
cession. Governor  Orr,  who  was  then  a  co-operation 
candidate  for  the  proposed  Southern  Convention,  com- 
pletely took  the  wind  out  of  his  sails  by  his  little  bull 
story,  which  I  have  frequently  mentioned,  and  will  now 
repeat :  There  was  an  engine  and  train  of  cars  passing 
through  an  old  field,  where  a  number  of  cattle  were 
grazing.  A  little  bull  seeing  the  engine  coming  towards 
him,  he  pitched  into  it  for  a  fight.  The  engine  passed 
over  him,  and  lie  was  crushed  to  pieces.  The  cars  were 
stopped,  the  passengers  got  out.  An  old  gentleman 
walked  up  to  the  bull  and  said,  "  I  admire  your  spirit, 
but  damn  your'  judgment."  Governor  Means  spoke 
after  the  mustering  was  over,  out  Governor  Orr  would 
always  steal  a  march  on  him  and  speak  before  the  mus- 
tering commenced,  and  when  the  people  were  fresh  and 
more  willing  to  listen. 

Governor  Orr  was  a  very  fine-looking  gentleman,  tall, 
well  proportioned,  and  commanding  in  his  appearance. 
He  presided  in  court,  and  over  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentati\es  in  Congress  with  great  dignity  and  firmness. 
But  when  he  left  the  bench  or  speaker's  chair,  there  was 


186  James  L.  Oju:. 

no  one  iiiorc  familiar  and  easy  in  his  manners.  He  was 
a  trne  son  of  nature  and  one  ot"  nature's  noblenieu.  He 
was  careless  in  his  dress,  and  did  not  eultivate  tlic  graces. 
There  was  nothing  artificial  about  him.  Frank,  open 
and  unpretending  in  liis  deportment,  always  in  a  good 
humor  and  cordial  in  his  manners. 

I  went  with  Governor  Orr  as  a  delegate  to  attend  the 
Philadeipliia  (Vinvention  in  1866.  This  was  tlie  first 
o])portunity  he  had,  after  the  close  of  the  war,  of  meeting 
his  northern  friends  and  quondam  associates  in  Congress. 
I  witnessed  the  cordiality  with  which  they  all  greeted 
him  and  heard  their  expressions  of  sincere  regard  and  ad- 
miration for  him  as  a  })ul>lic  man  and  private  gentle- 
man. I  was  satisfied  that  there  was  no  Southern  man, 
at  that  time,  who  possessed  greater  pojndarity  than  he 
did,  with  the  Northern  and  Western  people.  His  popu- 
larity, however,  with  the  Democratic  party,  was  after- 
wards greatly  impaired,  by  his  affiliation  with  the  Re- 
publican party.  It  was  a  sore  thing  witii  the  North- 
western Democracy  to  see  their  leader  and  sjieaker  aban- 
doning their  cause  and  principles,  when  they  were  sinking 
into  a  lean  minority  for  upholding  and  sympathizing 
with  the  South. 

In  the  Philadelphia  Republican  Convention  of  1872, 
for  the  purpose  of  nominating  a  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency, Judge  Orr  Mas  a  delegate  from  South  Carolina, 
and  made  a  speech  defending  President  Grant  for  his 
Ku-klux  prosecutions,  which  gave  great  ofifence  to  the 
people  of  his  State.  They  thought  it  most  unkind  in  an 
honored  South  Carolinian,  to  justify  the  military  oppres- 
sion and  tyranny  of  his  native  State.  But  this  speech 
gave  him  great  favor  Avith  General  Grant,  who  soon 
manifested  a  disposition  to  reward  him.  The  mission  to 
the  Argentine  Republic  was  immediately  afterwards 
tendered  him.  Governor  Orr  showed  me  the  letter  of 
Secretary  Fish  tendering  the  mission  the  morning  after 
he  received  it.  I  said  to  him,  you  certainly  have  no 
idea  of  a(;cepting  it.     It  is  only  a  half  mission,  and  to  an 


James  L.  Orr.  187 

outlandish,  half-civilized  people.  He  replied,  how  am  I 
to  live  ■?  The  State  will  not  pay  my  salary,  and  I  have 
no  money.  I  thought  at  that  time  he  was  disgusted 
with  his  political  position  in  South  Carolina,  and  his 
political  associates,  and  v,'ns  anxious  to  get  rid  of  them. 
He  saw  failure  inevitable  in  his  bolting  movement,  and 
that  he  ct)uld  no  longer  exercise  a  controlling  influence 
over  the  Radical  party  in  South  Carolina.  The  mission 
to  Russia  was  soon  afterwards  tendered  him  by  Presi- 
dent Grant,  without  any  consultation  with  his  cabinet. 
This  reached  him  in  bad  health,  and  he  accepted  it,  most 
unfortunately.  The  cold  climate  of  Russia  proved  too 
severe  for  his  delicate  health.  Had  he  remained  in 
South  Carolina  he  might  have  lived  for  many  years,  and 
high  honors  would  yet  have  awaited  him. 

I  do  not  deem  it  necessar}'-  to  give  a  biographical 
sketch  of  Judge  Orr.  The  newspapers  of  the  State  have 
already  done  this  at  great  length  and  with  great  minute- 
ness. There  was  one  characteristic  of  Judge  Orr  which 
I  will  not  omit  to  mention,  although  I  am  neither 
writing  a  sketch  of  his  life  or  character,  ])roperly  speak- 
ing. He  was  a  gentleman  of  unbounded  hospitality, 
both  at  home  and  in  "Washington.  He  delighted  to  see 
his  friends  and  have  them  around  him.  In  Washing- 
ton, whilst  Speaker,  his  entertainments  were  numerous, 
elegant  and  luxurious.  At  home  his  house  was  always 
filled  with  his  friends.  Dm'ing  court  at  Anderson, 
when  it  was  impossible  for  the  judges  and  la^v}'ers  to 
dine  with  him,  he  always  made  it  a  point  to  have  them 
at  his  house  in  the  evening  after  the  adjournment  of 
court,  where  they  never  failed  to  spend  their  time  most 
pleasantly  indeed.  No  (ine  ever  took  more  pleasure  in 
serving  a  friend,  or  what  was  a  much  higher  Christian 
\drtue,  in  forgiving  an  enemy,  than  Judge  Orr.  I  can- 
not, in  my  judgment,  pay  a  higher  tribute  of  respect  to 
his  heart.  Sad,  very  sad,  indeed,  is  his  death,  cut  oif  in 
the  prime  of  his  manhood,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  bril- 
liant career  of   iisofiihiess  and  distinction,      li'   he  Iind 


188  Jamks  L.  Ori:. 

faults  and  foibles  like  othor  ^ivat  men,  they  lie  buried 
iu  the  love  and  atteetion  of  his  oountiynieu.  The  last 
conversation  I  had  with  Judge  Orr,  he  expressed  a  wish 
that  he  might  die  suddenly,  and  said  he  never  repeated 
that  portion  of  the  Episcopal  service  wliicli  asked  to  be 
preserved  from  sudden  death. 


DAVID  L  SWAIN. 

There  were  few  public  men  in  North  Carolina  for  the 
last  half  of  a  century  so  universally  popular  with  all 
parties  and  all  classes  of  persons  as  Governor  Swain.  No 
one  ever  rose  to  distinction  in  the  good  old  North  State 
so  rapidly,  and  filled  so  many  high  offices  in  so  short  a 
time  as  he  did.  He  was  unanimously  elected  a  member 
of  the  Legislature  by  the  people  of  Buncombe,  imme- 
diately after  his  admission  to  the  Bar.  Before  he  had 
finished  his  term  in  the  Legislature,  he  was  elected  solici- 
tor of  one  of  the  most  important  law  circuits  in  the  State. 
He  resigned  this  office  in  a  year  or  two,  and  was  elected 
a  circuit  judge.  He  had  been  on  the  bench  only  a  few 
years,  when  he  was  elected  Governor  of  the  State  almost 
unanimously  by  the  Legislature.  There  was  an  angry 
contest  between  the  two  aspirants  for  the  executive  chair, 
when  they  both  withdrew  in  favor  of  Judge  Swain.  He 
was  elected  without  solicitation,  and  almost  without  liis 
knowledge.  As  soon  as  his  Gubernatorial  term  expired, 
he  was  elected,  by  the  Legislature,  President  of  the  North 
Carolina  University,  at  Chapel  Hill.  This  election  gave 
rise  to  a  famous  witticism  of  one  of  the  waggish  members 
of  the  Legislature.  Governor  Swain  had  not  had  a  col- 
legiate education.  His  classical  studies  were  completed 
at  the  Asheville  Academy,  in  Buncombe  County,  North 
Carolina.  After  the  result  of  the  election  was  announced, 
that  his  Excellency  Governor  Swain  had  been  chosen  by 
the  Legislature,  to  fill  the  learned  position  of  President 
of  the  State  University,  this  member  exclaimed :  "  Well ! 
having   given   him  every  high   office  in   the   State,  the 


190  Pa VII)  L.  I^WAIN. 

Ix'fii^^latiii'c  lins  iKtw  sent  liiiii  to  ('Ii;i|h'1  Ilill  to  be  cdii- 
catcxl." 

I  was  sent  to  school  at  Ashevillo  in  1.S22,  and  there  I 
met  David  L.  8A\aiu.  He  was  then  a  student  in  the 
academy,  and  in  appearance  a  grown  man,  though  I  sup- 
pose he  was  not  over  nineteen  or  twenty  years  old.  He 
was  about  as  awk^vard  and  oawkv  a  a-ouu":  ffeutlemau  as 
I  had  ever  met.  He  was  six  feet  tAvo  inches  in  height, 
slender  and  ill-shai)ed,  with  a  long  pale  face,  thick  lips, 
sharp  nose,  and  dull  expression  of  the  eyes.  The  boys 
all  loved  him  most  affectionately.  He  was  an  accom- 
plished I^iatin  and  Greek  scholar,  and  took  great  pleasure 
in  reading  for  the  younger  students  any  hard  sentence 
Avhich  they  came  across  in  their  lessons.  I  remember 
with  what  pleasure  I  listened  to  his  reading  of  Homer, 
with  a  sort  of  musical  drawl,  that  to  me,  was  sweet  and 
charming.  He  was  the  most  amiable  and  best  tempered 
young  man  I  ever  saw,  and  punctiliously  honorable.  He 
Avas  without  a  vice  of  any  kind,  and  I  believe  he  lived 
so  through  life.  He  was  grave  and  serious,  and  yet 
w^arm-hearted  and  cordial.  I  doubt  Avhether  he  ever 
gave  offence  to  a  human  being.  I  am  sure  he  never  did 
intentionally.  He  Avas  a  hard  student  and  had  a  fine 
memory.  His  progress,  therefore,  in  his  studies,  Avas 
almost  as  rapid  as  his  rise  in  public  life.  He  lefl  our 
academy,  and  tutor,  the  Reverend  ]Mr.  Porter,  for  the 
pui'pose  of  entering  Chapel  Hill  Uni\'ersity.  He  arrived 
there  tA\^o  or  three  Aveeks  before  the  commencement  of 
the  session,  and  spent  his  time  Avith  the  professors  and  in 
reading.  Finally  he  concluded  not  to  enter  college,  but 
go  on  to  Raleigh,  and  read  laAv.  He  tliought  he  could 
not  Avait  tAA^o  years  before  commencing  his  legal  studies, 
and,  moreoA'er,  he  Avas  under  the  impression  that  he  was 
about  as  good  a  scholar  as  any  of  the  professors. 

I  was  boarding  in  the  family  of  the  GoA'ernor's  father 
at  Asheville,  Avhilst  DaA'id  Avas  reading  laAv  in  Raleigh. 
The  old  gentleman  Avas  postmaster,  doctor,  and  carried  on 
a  hat  manufactory.     He  Avas  a  well  educated  and  Intel li- 


David  L.  Swain.  101 

gent  old  geutleman,  proud  of  his  sou,  aud  had  gtxuit  ex- 
pectations and  hopes  of  his  distinction  in  Hfe.  Doctor 
Swain  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  married  a  widow 
lady  in  Georgia,  and  settled  at  Asheville,  North  Carolina. 
He  was  a  most  excellent  man  and  a  pious  Christian. 
His  memory  was  wonderful.  He  forgot  nothing  that  he 
saw,  heard  or  read.  He  could  recall  where  he  was,  any 
day,  forty  or  fifty  years  since.  The  doctor  took  great 
pleasure  in  reading  David's  letters  to  me  and  others, 
whilst  he  was  studying  law  at  Raleigh.  They  were 
always  interesting  too.  The  Governor  had,  in  youth,  as 
well  as  in  old  age,  an  inquiring  philosophical  mind,  ob- 
serving everything,  and  finding  out  the  cause  of  every- 
thing. He  had,  too,  a  very  happy  faculty  of  retaining 
what  he  had  seen,  or  heard,  or  read,  or  found  out. 

Whilst  reading  law  at  the  capital  of  the  State,  Gover- 
nor Swain  became  engaged  to  a  young  lady  of  that  city, 
whom  he  afterwards  married.  This  induced  him  to  give 
up  his  native  mountain  home  where  he  yvas  the  loved 
idol  of  the  people,  and  live  in  Raleigh.  After  his  elec- 
tion to  the  Presidency  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, he  moved  to  C'hapel  Hill  of  course,  and  there  con- 
tinued to  reside  till  his  death.  He  was,  I  think,  thirt}- 
years  at  the  head  of  this  institution  of  learning.  I  re- 
member he  once  wrote  me  that  the  University  had  been 
in  existence  over  a  half  century,  and  had  had  but  two 
Presidents,  President  Caldwell  and  himself.  Whilst  he 
was  President  of  the  University,  the  Legislature  came 
very  near  electing  him  United  States  Senator.  This  was 
without  his  consent,  and  I  do  not  suppose  he  would  have 
accepted  the  position  had  he  been  elected.  But  it  shows 
his  acceptability  to  the  Legislature  for  any  office  within 
their  gift,  when  they  could  not  agree  on  any  one  else. 

Governor  Swain  was  a  man  of  great  learning  as  well 
as  great  ability.  With  his  wonderful  memory,  and  habits 
of  studying  from  his  youth,  he  (X)uld  not  have  been  other- 
wise than  learned.  His  administration  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  college,  was  very  successful.     Perhaps  there 


> 

192  Davfd  L.  Swain. 

was  no  collogc  in  the  Unitel  Statos  where  fewer  difficul- 
ties oeeurred  in  its  government.  He  tokl  me,  that  when 
he  entered  on  his  duties  as  President,  he  told  the  pro- 
fessors that  he  should  never  make  a  question  without  be- 
ing pretty  sure  he  wiis  right,  but  whether  right  or  wrong, 
they  must  sustain  him.  The  harmonious  and  successful 
government  of  the  college  required  this  sacrifice  on  their 
part. 

After  leaving  school  at  Asheville,  Governor  Swain  and 
myself  saw  nothing  of  each  other  for  many  years.  One 
evening  in  Columbia,  a  servant  came  to  my  room,  and 
told  me  that  there  was  a  gentleman  in  a  carriage  at  the 
door  who  mshed  to  see  me.  The  hotel  was  full,  and  he 
had  to  seek  lodgings  somewhere  else,  but  wished  to  speak 
to  me  before  going  oif.  Not  expecting  to  see  my  old 
schoolmate,  I  did  not  recognize  the  Governor  until  he 
made  himself  known  to  me.  Thsn  I  saw  at  once,  in  the 
old  man,  those  well-marked  features,  which  characterized 
the  young  student  from  whom  I  had  parted  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years  ago.  I  said  he  must  not  leave  the  hotel, 
and  I  would  provide  a  room  for  him  in  some  way.  This 
I  did,  and  we  spent  a  delightful  evening  in  talking  over 
the  events  which  had  transpired  since  we  had  last  seen 
each  other. 

From  the  time  of  this  meeting  in  Columbia  ^ve  corre- 
sponded frequently,  and  occasionally  met  again.  The 
Governor  was  a  strong  Union  man  up  to  the  breaking 
out  of  the  civil  war.  He  then  heartily  took  sides  with 
his  State  and  section.  After  the  war  was  over  he  de- 
plored deeply. the  unjust  and  tyrannical  legislation  of 
Congress,  and  concurred  with  me  in  all  that  I  said  or  did 
on  the  subject  of  reconstruction.  He  wrote  a  series  of 
able  articles  addressed  to  me  in  one  of  the  North  Carolina 
newspapers,  on  the  test  oath,  disfranchisement,  etc.,  etc. 

In  November,  1866,  I  hrd  the  pleasure  of  receiving 
from  Governor  Swain,  a  very  long  letter,  nine  pages,  and 
from  which  I  will  make  a  few  extracts  :  "  It  is  not  veiy 
difficult  to  decnde  the  character  of  our  representatives  if 


David  L.  Swain.  193 

this  rule  shall  be  forced  iipou  us.  Let  us  inquire  for  u 
moment  who  will  be  excluded.  Take  your  State  for  an 
example.  From  early  life  to  the  present  time,  I  have 
had  opportunities  to  kno^v  something  of  your  leading 
men.  I  knew  Mr.  Pettigru  personally,  met  him  in 
Charleston  in  February,  1861,  corresponded  with  him 
during  the  entire  period  of  the  war,  and  to  within  two  or 
three  weeks  of  his  death.  Regarded  him  when  living, 
and  remember  him  now  that  he  is  no  more,  as  one  of  the 
ablest  and  purest  men  I  have  ever  known.  I  cannot  say 
that  if  he  was  alive,  he  could  not  take  the  test  oath,  but 
I  can  affirm  with  great  confidence,  that  under  no  circum- 
stances would  he  do  it.  My  personal  knowledge  of  you 
extends  through  nearly  half  a  century.  We  were  scliool- 
mates  and  intimate  friends  in  early  life,  and  at  all  subse- 
quent periods,  I  have  been  familiar  with  your  history. 
Without  entering  into  details  that  might  be  offensive  to 
your  dehcacy,  I  can  say  with  confidence,  that  investiga- 
tion will  establish  the  fact  beyond  controversy,  that  from 
the  first  avowal  of  nullification  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  in  his 
letter  to  General  Hamilton,  until  the  secession  of  your 
State,  no  member  of  the  committee,  not  even  excepting 
Senator  Johnson,  of  Maryland,  had  ever  been  placed  in 
circumstances  that  required  or  admitted  the  constant,  un- 
flinching, hazardous  devotion  to  the  Union,  and  opposi- 
tion to  nullification  and  secession,  which  have  character- 
ized the  whole  course  of  your  political  life.  President 
Johnson,  in  1826-27,  resided  in  Laurens,  the  adjoining 
district  to  Greenville  in  your  State,  and  few  i)ersons  be- 
yond the  limits  of  South  Carolina  are  as  familiar  as  he, 
or  sympathized  as  deeply  as  he  in  the  conflicts  \vhich  you 
waged  during  so  many  years  in  behalf  of  the  Union. 
You  cannot  take  the  oath,  and  what  I  affirm  in  relation 
to  those  in  North  Carolina  who  can,  mil  not  apply  Avith 
less  force  to  South  Carolina.  You  have  no  honest  and 
competent  men  who  can  submit  to  a  test  of  loyalty,  which 
is,  in  my  estimation,  as  clearly  unconstitutional  as  inex- 
}>edient. 


l94  David  L.  Swain. 

And  yet  we  are  told,  uo  doubt  lionestly  on  the  part  of 
many  wlio  say  so,  that  a  range  of  coniiseation,  Avliich  has 
no  parallel  in  the  history  of  civilization  since  the  days  of 
William  tlie  Conqueror,  is  a  mild  punishment  for  Con- 
federate treason.  The  des(^eudauts  of  Shay  rebellionists, 
wliisky  insurrectionists,  and  Hartford  conventiouists,  can 
afford  to  be  merciful  if  not  magnanimous.  We  are  as- 
sured moreover,  with  equal  honesty  and  sincerity,  that 
Southern  statesmen  should  consent  to  their  exclusion 
fi'om  office  AAdth  exultation,  as  affording  an  opportimity 
to  open  the  way  to  office  and  emolument,  to  those,  who, 
under  other  circumstances,  would  never  have  been  thought 
of  by  themselves  or  others  in  connection  with  official 
station.  John  Quiucy  Adams,  you  may  remember,  en- 
tertained and  expressed  on  a  memorable  occasion  very 
different  sentiments.  Where,  with  a  view  to  censure  Mr. 
Webster,  a  Pennsylvania  representative  offered  a  resolu- 
tion calling  upon  the  President  for  information  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  secret  service  fund  had  been  ex- 
pended. Mr.  Adams  expressed  a  willingnass  to  vote  for 
it  if  the  member  would  avow  that  his  pui-pose  was  to 
impeach  Mr.  Webster  as  Secretary  of  State.  In  reply  to 
the  suggestion  that  Mr.  Webster  was  not  then  in  office, 
and  not  subject  to  impeachment,  Mr.  Adams  remarked, 
in  substance,  that  he  imderstood  the  Constitution  veiy 
differently,  that  he  had  arrived  at  that  time  of  life,  when, 
with  the  excejDtion  of  the  station  he  then  held,  he  had 
nothing  to  expect  or  desire  at  the  hands  of  his  country- 
men, but  that  he  had  filled  the  highest  office  in  their 
gift,  and  that  for  any  malfeasance  in  office,  he  was  still 
amenable  to  impeachment  and,  a  punishment  that  he 
would  regard  as  worse  than  death,  disqualification  to  hold 
office.  That  sentence  is  proposed  to  be  passed  upon  you 
mider  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution  to  be  adopted, 
with  about  as  much  regard  to  the  spirit  of  the  mode 
pointed  out  in  that  instnmient,  as  would  characterize  the 
formality  of  an  impeachment  of  our  friend  Governor 
Graham,  for  some  misdemeanor  yet  to  be  discovered, 


David  L.  Swain,  195 

committed  while  Secretary  of  the  Na\y,  without  a  pre- 
liminary finding  by  the  House  of  Representatives  as  the 
great  inquest  of  the  nation.  I  hazard  little  in  saying 
that  if  you  and  he  had  been  admitted  to  your  seats  in  the 
Senate,  a  vnser  scheme  of  adjustment  wonid  have  been 
adopted,  and  one  much  more  favorable  to  the  true  Union 
men  of  the  South  than  the  Howard  Amendment." 

In  July,  1867,  Governor  Swain  wTote  me  as  follows  : 
"  I  am  the  only  person  in  North  Carolina,  trebly  dis- 
franchised, having  ser\'ed  in  all  the  departments  of  the 
State  Government,  Legislative,  Judiciary  and  Executive. 
As  I  remarked  to  a  northern  friend,  some  time  since, 
the  poor  privilege  is  denied  me  of  voting  for  my  o^\ti 
slaves,  and  they  are  not  allowed  to  vote  for  me,  while 
two  of  them  now  in  my  employment  have  higher  claims 
to  my  confidence,  as  discreet  and  benevolent  men,  than 
Stephens  and  Sumner,  or  Butler  and  Logan.  But  what 
can  we  do  ?  Literally,  nothing  but  hope  for  a  returning 
sense  of  justice  from  the  northern  people.  *  *  *  * 
I  mentioned  in  a  note  to  Mrs.  Perry,  some  time  since, 
that  IVIr.  Jolmson,  Mr.  Seward,  and  Mr.  Randall,  w^ere 
Mrs.  Swain's  guests  at  commencement.  Governor  Worth 
was  with  us  also,  and  General  Sickles  was  the  guest  of 
our  neighbor.  Dr.  Hubbard.  I"  spent  a  day  with  Gen. 
Sickles,  at  the  residence  of  Governor  Worth,  in  Raleigh, 
before  the  party  came  up  here,  and  think  we  are  fortunate 
in  having  him  as  our  chief,  though  I  desired  General 
Schofield,  with  whom  I  had  had  personal  interviews  very 
shortly  after  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  armies. 
General  Sickles  was  Secretary  of  Legation,  when  Mr. 
Buchanan  was  nominated  to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  and 
adheres  to  the  ojjinions  that  he  had  at  that  time." 

In  character.  Governor  Swain  was  very  much  like  the 
great  William  Lowndes,  of  South  Carolina.  He  was 
unambitious,  amiable  and  pure.  He  never  sought  office, 
but  had  all  the  high  offices  of  his  State  thrust  on  him  in 
rapid  succession  by  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina, 


196  David  L.  Swain. 

In  wisdom,  nhility,  and  talents,  lit'  -was  also  like  Mr. 
Lowndes,  and  not  nnlike  him  in  his  j)ersoual  appearanee. 
Had  he  been  in  Congress,  his  reputation  a.s  a  statesman 
would  have  been  as  Avidespread,  as  deep  rooted,  and  as 
gloriously  enviable  as  that  of  South  Carolina's  illustrious 
sons. 


JOHN  S.  RICHARDSON. 

I  prepared  a  sketch  of  Judge  Richardson  for  "  the 
XlXth  Century,"  but  unfortunately,  that  periodical  was 
discontinued  before  its  publication,  and  I  have  not  been 
able  to  recover  the  manuscript.  Nor  can  I,  ncnv,  repro- 
duce the  article  from  memory  in  its  fullness  and  justice. 
But  my  great  respect  for  the  memory  of  this  distinguished 
gentleman,  -will  not  permit  me  to  omit  him  in  my  Remi- 
niscences of  Public  Men. 

Judge  Richardson  was  well  calculated  to  inspire  feel- 
ings of  kindness  and  friendship  in  all  who  were  so  for- 
tunate as  to  become  intimately  accpiainted  -^ith  him.  He 
was  a  man  of  liigh  and  pure  character,  warm  and  cordial 
in  his  feelings,  disinterested  and  devoted  in  his  friend- 
ship. He  had  the  courage  of  a  true  chevalier  in  his 
nature,  with  the  polished  manners  of  a  Carolina  gentle- 
man of  the  old  school.  His  talents  and  ability  were  of 
a  high  order,  united  with  great  practical  good  sense  and 
Avisdom.  I  knew  him  intimately  before  our  political 
party  organizations  in  South  Carolina,  and  had,  for  him, 
very  great  respect.  He  became  a  bold  uncompromising 
Union  man,  and  this  increased  our  intimacy,  and  threw 
us  more  frequently  together.  How  little  did  we  then 
think  it  was  possible  for  that  Federal  Union  to  become  a 
foul  and  loathsome  monster  of  tyranny  and  oppression. 
But  it  is  not  that  grand  Union  of  States,  or  that  beautiful 
Republican  system  of  government,  under  which  we  live, 
that  has  disgraced  the  civilization  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
turv%  legaHzed  corruption,  and  established  an  odious,  ig- 
norant, polluted  tyranny  in  the  Southern  States.  No  ! 
This  has   been  the  work   of  the   corrupt   and    fiendish 


198  John  S.  Richardson. 

scoundrels  into  whose  hands  the  administration  of  the 
government  lias  fallen. 

Judge  Richardson  was,  for  many  years,  a  leading 
member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  South  Car- 
olina, Speaker  of  the  House,  and  Attorney-General  of 
the  State.  He  told  me  that  he  was  elected  Speaker  very 
much  against  his  feelings  and  wishes.  He  was  at  the 
time  candidate  for  Attorney-General,  and  did  not  desire 
the  Speakership.  As  Attorney-General,  he  was  able  and 
eminent  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties.  His  great 
powers  of  analysis  in  debate  showed  })re-eminent.  But 
as  a  judge  amongst  his  learned  compeers  and  associates, 
he  was  not  so  conspicuous.  He  did  not  like  the  dull 
routine  of  labor  on  the  bench,  taking  down  testimony, 
ruling  points  of  e\'idence,  listening  to  long,  dull  argu- 
ments of  counsel,  maldng  out  reports  of  cases,  etc.  This 
feeling  and  indisposition  increased  on  him  with  age,  and 
the  bar  became  dissatisfied  Anth  his  want  of  interest  in 
the  discharge  of  his  judicial  labors.  An  effort  was  made 
a  few  years  previous  to  his  death,  to  remove  him  from 
the  bench,  for  want  of  capacity  and  failm'e  of  physical 
strength  to  perform  the  arduous  duties  of  a  circuit  judge. 
He  was  called  before  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
made  an  addi'ess  in  reply  to  the  charges  brought  against 
him.  His  defence  was  a  most  triumphant  one,  and  he 
showed  that  he  had  far  more  ability  than  any  member  of 
the  House  who  charged  him  with  a  want  of  capacity. 
The  impeachment  was  voted  down  by  an  overwhelming 
majority. 

Judge  Richardson  had  a  very  clear  mind,  and  was  very 
dexterous  in  debate.  He  was  not  only  a  wise  man,  but 
a  far-seeing  man,  and  one  of  extended  views  in  politics. 
He  would  have  made  a  great  statesman,  and  a  most  suc- 
cessful politician.  He  had  great  tact,  and  was  very 
adroit  in  management.  Whilst  on  the  bench,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  Congress,  and  it  would  have  been 
well  for  his  fame  and  distinction,  had  he  accepted  the 
position,  and  turned  his  attention  exclusively  to  politics. 


John  S.  Richardson.  1U9 

He  could  not  have  failed  to  make  his  mark  in  the  history 
of  his  country.  In  speaking  of  INIexico,  some  years  be- 
fore his  death,  he  expressed  the  hope  that  the  whole  of 
that  country  might  be  annexed  to  the  United  States.  He 
also  desired  to  take  Cuba  and  Canada  into  the  American 
Union.  "  Then,"  said  he,  "  wi;  shall  be  the  first  power 
in  the  world." 

Judge  Richardson  was  a  bold  man  morally  and  physi- 
cally, as  well  as  intellectually.  It  was  once  his  unpleasant 
duty  as  a  judge,  to  pass  sentence  on  Colonel  Bonham,  a 
gallant  spirit,  who  afterwards  fell  like  a  knight  of  ro- 
mance, at  the  Alamo,  for  an  assault  and  battery  on  a 
brother  lawyer,  at  Pickens  Court  House.  In  his  written 
sentence  (the  colonel  not  being  present)  he  made  some 
Avithering  remark  about  the  want  of  chivalry,  in  attack- 
ing an  unarmed  man,  with  pistol  and  horse-whip.  When 
the  sentence  was  opened  and  read  in  court,  the  colonel 
was  very  much  excited,  and  imprudently  wrote  the  judge 
a  note  stating  that  he  was  too  old  a  man  for  liim  to  chal- 
lenge, but  that  he  A^ould  pull  his  nose  on  sight.  The 
judge  replied  in  very  polite  terms  saying  that  he  was 
altogether  mistaken  in  supposing  him  too  old  to  fight. 
He  was  just  the  right  fighting  age,  and  would  be  happy 
to  accept  his  challenge,  and  give  him  that  satisfaction 
which  his  wounded  honor  might  demand.  This  was  a 
poser  to  the  hot-headed  colonel,  and  he  replied  that  he 
should  pursue  his  own  course  in  seeking  redress.  Shortly 
after  this  the  judge  came  to  Anderson  to  hold  court, 
where  Colonel  Bonham  resided.  Some  one  had  written 
him  a  letter,  stating  that  the  colonel  would  attack  him 
on  his  arrival  at  that  place.  After  supper  Sunday  even- 
ing, before  court,  the  judge  invited  me  to  his  room  and 
told  me  what  had  been  written  to  him.  He  then  wished 
to  know  if  I  did  not  think  "  he  could  lick  the  colonel  in 
case  the  assault  was  made."  He  said  he  would  not  carry 
a  pistol  or  think  of  using  one.  He  had  a  small  walking- 
stick  which  was  the  only  weapon  he  desired.  I  told  him, 
as  to  their  relative  manhood,  in  a  fisticuff,  I  thought  the 


200  J(JHN   8.    RlCUARDSON. 

colonel  would  ^ct  the  better  of  him.  This  lie  doubted, 
and  said  that  he  was  still  very  active  and  vigorous  in  a 
souffle.  JJut  no  attack  ^^'as  made  on  him,  as  I  felt 
assured  there  Avould  not  be.  I  heard  a  gentleman  say 
that,  a  short  time  before  this,  he  witnessed  the  judge's 
vigor  and  activity  in  a  scuffle  at  Sumter,  when  his  son 
JMaynard  was  attacked  by  a  mob.  The  judge  rushed 
into  the  crowd  and  used  his  umbrella  rio-ht  and  left  most 
dexterously  and  effectually. 

Judge  Kichardson  once  told  me,  that  he  had  been 
elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  Speaker  of  the  House, 
Attorney-General,  Judge,  and  member  of  Congress,  but 
that  none  of  these  elections  had  ever  given  him  so  much 
pleasure  and  heartfelt  satisfaction  as  being  elected  ensign 
of  a  militia  company  in  Charleston,  when  he  was  first 
setting  out  in  life.  The  election  was  contested,  and  they 
had  three  hard  canvasses  before  the  matter  was  finally 
settled.  He  said  it  gave  him  a  relish  for  elections  and 
electioneering,  which  he  never  lost  in  after-life.  In  our 
Union  and  nullification  campaigns,  the  Judge  M'as  a  great 
manager,  and  seemed  really  to  delight  in  forming  plans 
for  our  struggle  in  every  district  in  the  State.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  State  Convention  in  the  days  of  nullifica- 
tion, and  had  been  stump-speaking  with  Governor  Mc- 
Duffie  the  preceding  summer.  There  had  been  some 
sparring  between  them,  and  in  the  convention  the  Gov- 
ernor replied,  not  very  courteously,  to  some  remarks  of 
the  judge.  They  did  not  strike  me,  however,  as  calling 
for  any  special  notice.  I  saw,  however,  the  judge  was  a 
good  deal  nettled,  and  he  came  to  where  I  was  sitting, 
and  asked  my  counsel  as  to  his  noticing  what  had  been 
said.  T  dissuaded  him  from  replying.  He  said,  if  your 
purpose  is  simply  to  keep  me  out  of  an  altercation  which 
may  lead  to  a  difficulty,  I  shall  not  heed  your  advice. 
But  if  you  say  upon  your  word  as  a  true  chevalier,  that 
neither  honor  nor  duty  to  our  party  requires  me  to  notice 
the  remarks,  I  will  be  governed  by  your  judgment. 


John  f?.  Richardson.  201 

Judge  Richardson  was  a  most  sociable  and  charming 
companion.  On  the  circuit  he  delighted  in  chatting  with 
the  lawyers  of  an  evening  after  the  adjournment  of  court, 
and  was  always  pleased  to  have  a  circle  around  him  at 
the  fireside  in  the  hotels.  He  talked  well,  and  was  a 
great  dialectician.  He  could  argue  any  question  with 
great  plausibility.  The  character  of  his  mind  was  very 
much  like  that  of  Mr.  Poinsett,  and  I  think  I  have  heard 
them  say  that  they  were  distantly  related.  He  was  a 
small  man  with  thin  features,  and  a  bright  beaming 
countenance.  He  was  quite  an  old  man  at  his  death, 
was  taken  sick  on  the  circuit,  and  went  to  his  son's  in 
Charleston,  where  he  died.  He  was  born  in  Siunter  Dis- 
trict and  lived  in  the  same  neighborhood  with  the  first 
and  second  Governor  Richardson,  but  was  not  related  at 
all  to  that  fiimily.  He  was,  as  I  have  heard  Governor 
Manning  say,  a  most  kind  and  excellent  neighbor,  an  in- 
dulgent master,  and  liberal  and  charitable. 

How  delightful  it  is  to  recall  the  memories  of  our  pub- 
lic men  in  South  Carolina,  and  review  their  high  and  pure 
characters  and  polished  manners.  For  nearly  two  hun- 
dred years  previous  to  our  late  civil  war,  there  was 
scarcely  a  spot  or  blemish  on  the  escutcheon  of  a  single 
public  man  in  South  Carolina.  All  were  pure,  highly 
gifted,  educated,  polished,  and  incorruptible.  The  suspi- 
cion of  bribery  and  corruption  was  unknown  to  the  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands  of  Carolina  gentlemen  who 
were  honored  with  seats  in  our  Legislature  during  the 
past  two  centuries.  The  office  of  Governor,  Judge,  Sen- 
ator, and  representative  in  Congress,  Avas  always  bestowed 
on  the  wisest,  best,  and  most  talented  of  the  land.  They 
loved  their  State,  and  guarded  her  honor  as  they  did  that 
of  a  mother. 


JOHN  BELTON  O'NEALL 

John  Beltou  O'Neall,  Chief  Justice  of  South  Carolma, 
was  a  citizen  of  Greenville  for  many  years  in  the  latter 
part  of  his  life.  He  purchased  a  valuable  farm  on  South 
Tyger  River,  fifteen  miles  above  the  city  of  Greenville. 
This  farm,  in  the  early  settlement  of  Greenville,  had  be- 
longed to  Col.  John  Thomas,  a  distinguished  officer  of  the 
American  Revolution,  and  his  remains  lie  buried  there. 
It  was  afterwards  purchased  by  Judge  Edwards,  of  the 
County  Court,  where  he  lived  a  great  many  years,  and 
died.  Judge  O'Neall  likewise  owned  a  valuable  planta- 
tion in  Newberry  District,  which  he  inherited  from  a 
maternal  uncle,  after  whom  he  was  named.  He  resided 
on  his  Newberry  plantation  in  the  winter,  and  came  to 
Greenville  in  the  summer.  He  was  greatly  respected 
and  loved  by  his  neighbors  in  Greenville.  No  public 
man  in  South  Carolina  has  left  behind  him  a  purer  or 
more  unsullied  character  than  Chief  Justice  O'Neall,  He 
had  none  of  the  faults  or  foibles  which  are  sometimes 
found  in  the  character  of  our  greatest  men.  He  was,  in 
the  language  of  General  Harry  Lee,  describing  General 
Marion,  "  pure  all  over."  By  nature  he  was  warm- 
hearted, generous  and  confiding.  Like  General  Jackson, 
he  never  deserted  a  friend,  however  much  that  friend 
may  have  erred.  There  are  few  men  in  South  Carolina 
who  have  done  more  good  and  less  evil  than  John  Belton 
O'Neall.  His  organ  of  destructiveness  was  very  strong, 
whilst  those  of  conscientiousness  and  veneration  were 
equally  developed.  Hence  he  made  war  all  his  life 
against  every  species  of  immortality,  dishonor,  vice  and 
crime.     His  organ  of  combativeness,  without   conscien- 


John  Belton  O'Neall.  203 

tiousness  and  veneration,  would  have  made  him  a  dan- 
gerous man.  But  he  had  a  well-balanced  head,  and 
therefore  his  strong  developments  made  him  a  noble, 
model  man,  moralist.  Christian,  patriot  and  philanthro- 
pist. His  intellect  was  of  high  order,  and  his  memory 
was  wonderfid.  His  industry  and  perseverance  were 
imsiu*passed  throughout  his  long  and  honorable  Kfe,  in 
every  pursuit  and  undertaking  in  which  he  engaged.  I 
once  heard  a  gentleman  say  to  him,  that  he  had  no  doubt 
his  ambition  was  to  die  seated  on  the  bench,  amidst  the 
trial  of  some  great  cause  in  comi:.  Wliilst  presiding  on 
the  circuit  bench,  no  one  ever  mistook  his  charge  to  the 
jury,  or  doubted  which  side  he  took  in  the  trial  of  a  case. 
His  clear,  discriminating  mind  and  unerring  judgment 
saw  at  once  the  true  points  of  the  case  and  its  justice.  He 
never  failed  to  boldly  express  his  opinions  to  the  jury.  In 
the  trial  of  a  slander  case,  at  Spartanburg,  he  said  to  the 
plaintiflP's  attorney,  after  the  case  closed,  "  It  is  well  for 
your  client  that  he  is  not  on  his  trial  for  the  larceny  im- 
puted to  him  by  the  defendant,  and  for  which  he  has 
brought  his  action  of  slander."  I  heard  a  distinguished 
lawyer  say  that  if  a  corrupt  judge  were  to  take  sides  in 
the  trial  of  a  case  as  Judge  O'Neall  did,  he  would  be 
shot  before  he  finished  his  circuit.  But  every  one  had 
such  confidence  in  O'Neall's  purity  that  no  oifence  was 
taken  at  his  charges,  although  wrong.  This,  however, 
was  very  seldom.  I  rememl^er  once  opening  my  case 
to  the  jury  with  a  statement  of  what  I  expected  to  prove, 
■when  Judge  O'Neall  promptly  said :  "  If  that  is  your 
case,  it  is  not  worth  while  to  introduce  any  testimony, 
for  I  charge  the  jury  to  find  against  you."  His  confi- 
dence in  the  bar  was  very  great.  In  returning  from  my 
home  in  the  mountains,  I  called  at  his  residence  on  South 
Tyger,  with  a  bundle  of  Equity  papers.  He  gave  me  a 
newspaper  to  read  some  article,  and  began  to  look  over 
my  papers  and  saw  one  endorsed,  "  Decree."  Without 
reading  the  bill  or  answer,  or  report  of  the  Commissioner 
or  decree  itself,  he  deliberately  signed  his  name  to  it,  and 


204  John    Dei/jon  O'NkalI;. 

i'dldi'd  up  tlu>  papers  aiul  luuuled  tlicni  to  inc.  His  love 
of  work  drew  Iroui  Jiidjie.  liiitler  the  iollowiiiji;  witti- 
cism :  Goiug  out  of  his  room  oue  day  in  CV»lumbia  whilst 
the  Court  of  A])peals  Mas  sitting,  Judge  Butler  locked 
his  door.  One  of  the  Judges  said,  "  AVhy  do  you  lock 
your  door  ?"  Butler  replied  :  "  O'Neall's  room  is  next 
to  miue,  and  I  am  afraid  he  will  go  inm  my  absence  and 
Avritc  all  the  opinions  I  have  to  deliver  for  me." 

Judge  O'Neall  has  frequently  told  me  that  when  a 
boy  he  was  placed  in  his  father's  store  where  spirits  were 
retailed.  It  became  his  duty  to  play  tapster  for  some 
time,  and  the  disgusting  scenes  he  then  A\itnessed  made 
a  deep  impression  on  his  youthful  mind.  His  father 
became  intemperate  and  lost  liis  fortmie  and  his  mind. 
He  was  afterwards  restored  to  his  senses  and  to  temper- 
ance, and  lived  to  a  great  old  age,  respected  and  venerated 
by  all  who  knew  him.  In  riding  the  Eastern  Circuit 
after  his  election  to  the  bench,  he  stopped  at  a  hotel  very 
nmch  fatigued  and  called  for  a  glass  of  spirits.  The 
landlord  told  him  that  gentlemen  so  seldom  drank  now- 
adays, he  did  not  keep  spirits.  This  expression  "  that 
gentlemen  seldom  drank  "  brought  the  blush  to  his  face, 
and  he  determined  never  to  expose  himself  again  to  such 
a  rebuke,  so  innocently  given. 

At  his  death,  the  Judge  supposed  huiiself  to  possess  a 
fortune,  and  made  several  kind  behests  to  his  friends  and 
persons  in  humble  circumstances.  But  his  kindness, 
confidence  and  friendship  induced  him  to  go  security  for 
many  persons,  which  ultimately  swallowed  up  his  estate. 

Chief  Justice  O'Neall  was  born  in  XeM'berrv,  South 
Carolina,  on  the  10th  of  April,  1793.  His  parents  were 
Quakers,  and  of  Irish  extraction.  His  great  grandfather 
belonged  to  the  ancient  house  of  O'J^eall,  of  Shone's 
Castle,  Antrim,  Ireland.  He  was  put  at  school  when 
only  five  years  old,  and  learned  raj^idly.  The  first  book 
he  read  w'as  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  which  gave  him 
a  taste  for  reading,  and  he  read  wdth  great  avidity  every 
thing  he  could  lay  his  hands  on.     He  acquired  the  habit 


John  Belton  O'Neall.  205 

of  extemporaneous  speaking  by  practicing  to  speak  every 
night,  after  he  had  got  his  lesson  for  the  next  day,  before 
his  nncle  and  grandfather.  In  February,  1811,  he 
entered  the  junior  class  of  the  South  Carolma  College, 
and  graduated  with  the  second  honor  of  that  Institution. 
After  graduating  he  taught  in  the  Newberry  Academy 
for  six  months.  Then  he  commenced  the  study  of  law 
in  the  office  of  John  Caldwell,  Esq.,  but  soon  volunteered 
his  services  in  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  was  ap- 
pointed Judge  Advocate  in  the  brigade  of  General  Star- 
ling Tucker.  In  1814  he  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of 
law  and  equity,  and  opened  his  office  in  the  village  of 
Newberry.  He  soon  had  a  large  share  of  the  business  in 
court.  About  this  time  he  was  elected  captain  of  a  vol- 
unteer company  of  artillery.  In  1816  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  Newberry 
District.  He  voted  to  increase  the  judges'  salaries,  and 
was  defeated  at  the  next  election.  In  1816  he  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  Governor  Pickens'  aids,  with  the  rank  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel.  He  was  elected  next  year  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  his  Alma  Matei",  and  con- 
tinued to  fill  that  honorable  position  through  his  life. 
In  1818  he  married  Miss  Helen  Pope,  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain Sampson  Pope,  of  Edgefield.  He  was  again  returned 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1822,  and  in  1824  was 
elected  speaker  of  the  House  without  opposition.  He 
was  re-elected  as  long  as  he  contined  a  member  of  that 
body,  and  no  one  ever  discharged  the  onerous  duties  of 
that  office  with  greater  ability.  He  had  a  fine  voice,  and 
read  with  wonderful  facility  the  worst  of  manuscript. 
He  presided  with  great  dignity,  and  despatched  promjitly 
the  business  of  the  House.  In  the  militia  he  rose  to  the 
rank  of  major-general,  and  jxissed  through  all  the  grades 
of  offices  below,  from  that  of  captain.  In  1828  he  M^as 
beaten  for  the  Legislature  in  consequence  of  his  favoring 
the  Randolph  opposition.  He  was,  however,  inmie- 
diately  afterwards  elected  Associate  Judge,  and  in  1830 
\\;is  elected  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals.     He  dis- 


206  John  Belton  O'Neall. 

cluirijod  tlio  duties  of  these  liigli  positfous  witli  great 
learning  inul  ability.  In  1846  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  was 
confei'red  on  him  by  tlic  Columbia  College,  in  the  Dis- 
triet  of  Columbia,  and  the  like  compliment  was  likewise 
paid  him  by  other  collegas. 

In  1847,  Judge  O'Neall  was  elected  President  of  the 
Greenville  and  Columbia  Ilailroad  Company,  and  by  his 
imfaltering  devotion  he  succeeded  in  completing  that 
great  route  for  the  whole  upper  coilutry  of  South  Caro- 
lina. In  1832  he  abandoned  the  use  of  spirituous 
liquors,  and  commenced  lecturing  on  temperance.  His 
services  in  this  field  were  of  great  benefit  to  society,  and 
many  a  drunkard  was  reformed  under  his  teaching.  The 
judge  has  written  two  works  of  great  interest  to  the 
people  of  South  Carolina :  "  The  Bench  and  Bar,"  and 
"  The  Annals  of  Newberry."  He  has  also  written  and 
published  a  great  many  political  articles,  addresses  and 
orations.  His  reputation  as  a  public  speaker  and  orator 
is,  however,  much  higher  than  that  of  a  writer.  He  was 
truly  eloquent  on  many  occasions,  at  the  bar,  in  the 
Legislature,  and  before  popular  assembhes.  The  State  is 
greatly  indebted  to  him  for  his  able,  assiduous  and  life- 
long services  in  the  cause  of  religion,  morality,  education, 
and  all  public  improvements.  As  a  judge,  no  one 
equaled  him  in  the  dispatch  of  business.  He  seemed  to 
love  labor.  Judge  O'Neall  was  a  most  devout  and  zeal- 
ous member  of  the  Baptist  church  for  a  great  number  of 
years  before  his  death. 

I  became  acquainted  with  Judge  O'Neall  early  in  hfe. 
He  was  a  strong  Union  man,  and  our  political  associa- 
tions produced  an  intimacy  and  friendship  which  lasted 
as  long  as  he  lived.  He  was  a  warm-hearted,  generous, 
noble  gentleman,  ever  ready  to  serve  a  friend  or  relieve 
any  one  in  distress.  In  his  manners  he  was  plain,  simple 
and  unaffected.  He  never  treated  any  one  with  rude- 
ness, but  received  all  kindly  and  courteously.  In  com- 
pany he  was  cheerful  and  agreeable,  fond  of  telling 
anecdotes   and  amusing  his  friends.     At  the  reorgani- 


John  Belton  O'Neall.  207 

zation  of  the  courts  in  South  Caroliua,  he  was  elected 
Chief  Justice,  which  high  and  dignified  position  he  filled 
for  several  years  previous  to  his  death,  with  great  ability. 
He  deeply  regretted  the  war,  and  I  think  the  misfortunes 
of  liis  country  had  something  to  do  with  the  hastening 
his  death. 

In  the  maturity  of  his  manhood  he  lost  in  a  very  short 
time  all  of  his  loved  and  promising  children  except  one. 
She,  too,  preceded  him  to  the  grave,  but  left  descendants 
who  may  well  be  proud  of  their  honored  and  noble  an- 
cestor. His  venerable  widow,  in  his  own  language, 
"the  loved  companion  of  his  joys  and  sorrows,"  still 
survives. 


BEiNJAMIN  FANEUIL  DUNKIN. 

Chaueellor  Diinkin,  who  lias  just  departed  this  life, 
"  full  of  years  and  full  of  honors,"  was  one  of  the  last 
high  fuuetiouaries  of  the  old  regime  in  South  Carolina. 
Though  a  New  Englauder  by  family,  and  a  Philadelphian 
by  birth,  he  was  a  true  Carolinian  in  feeling  and  charac- 
ter, ever  loyal  to  the  State,  and  possessing  all  the  honor, 
pride  and  dignity  of  the  old  school  of  South  Carolina 
gentlemen.  HLs  ancestry,  as  liis  Christian  name  would 
indicate,  were  amongst  the  first  families  of  Massachusetts. 
He  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  and  soon  after  came 
to  Charleston  to  ]3ursue  his  profession,  where  lie  volun- 
teered his  services  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  appointed 
the  adjutant  of  a  regiment,  which  was  stationed  at  George- 
town. He  married  a  South  Carolina  lady,  and  pur- 
chased a  large  plantation  near  Georgetown.  His  rise  at 
the  bar  was  rapid,  and  most  successful,  which  was  at  that 
time  one  of  the  ablest  in  tlie  United  States,  numbering 
amongst  its  members.  Judge  Cheves,  Lewis  Keating 
Simons,  General  Hayne,  Colonel  Dra}i:on,  Judge  Rich- 
ardson, James  L.  Petigru  and  Judge  Huger. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  making  the  acquaintance  of 
Chancellor  Dunkin,  in  1827.  He  was  then  a  leading 
member  of  the  Legislature,  and  I  was  a  constant  specta- 
tor of  its  proceedings,  just  after  my  admission  to  the  bar. 
I  noticed  that  in  all  their  discussions  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  the  chancellor  seldom  spoke  till  towards 
the  close  of  the  debate  and  he  then  generally  ciirried  the 
House  with  liim.  His  manner  of  speaking  was  fine,  with 
all  the  animation,  earnestness,  and  fire  of  a  Southern 
man.     He  was  logicid  in  his  argument,  and  always  spoke 


Benjamin   Faneuil  Dunkin.  209 

to  the  true  points  of  the  question  under  discussion.  At 
the  bar  his  manner  was  the  same,  and  he  always  argued 
his  cases  ^vith  great  ability  and  learning. 

I  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  when  he  was  elected 
chancellor  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation 
of  Chancellor  DeSaussure.  At  that  time  there  was  no 
chancellor  or  law  judge  residing  in  Charleston,  I  thought 
it  was  due  the  city,  and  important  to  the  interests  of  the 
people  that  they  should  have  a  resident  judge  in  the  city. 
As  soon  as  Chancellor  DeSaussure's  resignation  was  read 
by  the  Speaker,  I  went  to  Colonel  Memminger  and  ex- 
pressed my  willingness  to  vote  for  him  as  chancellor. 
He  said  to  me  that  he  did  not  wish  the  honor,  but  thought 
that  Chancellor  Dimkin  did  desire  it.  I  told  him  that 
I  would  support  Mr,  Dunkin  with  great  pleasure.  This 
conversation  was  repeated  to  the  chancellor,  who  met  me 
in  the  evening,  and  said  he  was  much  gratified  at  it. 
Judge  Wardlaw  was  run  against  him,  and  if  I  had  con- 
sulted my  own  interest,  I  should  certainly  have  supported 
him,  for  he  was  in  full  practice  at  Greenville,  at  the 
time,  and  our  relations  were  most  friendly  and  cordial. 

Chancellor  Dunkin,  proved  himself  the  model  of  a 
chancellor.  He  had  been  a  candidate  for  a  seat  on  the 
law  bench,  and  was  beaten  by  Judge  Butler.  I  always 
thought  it  was  fortunate  for  Chancellor  Dunkin  that  he 
became  a  chancellor  instead  of  a  law  judge.  He  was 
afterwards  elected  Chief  Justice  of  South  Carolina,  and 
continued  in  this  high  office  till  the  reconstruction  and 
downfall  of  the  State.  He  then  resumed  his  practice  at 
the  bar,  after  being  deprived  of  his  office  and  the  loss  of 
his  property. 

I  was  on  terms  of  great  intimacy  with  Chancellor 
Dunkin  for  nearly  half  of  a  centmy,  from  the  time  of 
our  first  acquaintance  up  to  his  death,  and  I  admired 
him  as  a  judge,  and  esteemed  him  as  a  man  throughout 
the  whole  of  this  period.  I  remember  consulting  him, 
when  I  was  a  very  young  man,  in  regard  to  an  affiiir  of 
honor,  in  which  I  was  then  engaged,  and  had   his  entire 


210  Benjamin   Faneuil  Dunkin. 

a]>]n'()val  of"  the  course  I  iuteudod  to  jnirsue.  Judge 
Kai'le  had  requested  me  to  cousult  with  him,  and  get  his 
judgment  in  regard  to  the  matter. 

Chancellor  Dunkin,  on  the  bench  and  olT  the  bench, 
was  the  representative  of  two  very  different  persons.  In 
the  one  position,  he  was  gravity,  and  dignity,  persoui- 
tied,  punctilious  in  the  enforcement  of  every  propriety  on 
the  part  of  the  bar  and  officers  of  court.  In  social  in- 
tercourse, he  was  always  jileasant,  affable  and  cordial. 
He  had  the  tact  of  drawing  from  all  whom  he  met  in 
conversation  a  great  deal  of  news,  without  communicat- 
ing much  in  return.  He  was  a  very  kind  hearted  gen- 
tleman. When  he  first  came  to  Greenville,  to  hold 
court,  he  inquired  of  me  the  circumstances  of  a  lady  re- 
siding here,  and  finding  that  she  was  straitened  in  her 
means  of  living,  he  gave  me  annually  for  many  years  a 
small  sum  of  money  to  purchase  necessaries  for  her,  but 
with  the  injunction  that  I  should  not  communicate  to 
the  lady  herself  or  any  one  else,  who  her  benefactor 
was. 

Chancellor  Dunkin  was  a  very  pious  and  devout  mem- 
ber of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  strict  in  the  observance 
of  all  his  religious  duties.  I  once  met  him  in  the  Court 
of  Appeals,  and  he  inquired  of  me,  how  he  should  get  to 
Spartanburg  Court.  I  suggested  to  him  that  he  had 
better  come  to  Greenville  and  I  would  carry  him  down 
on  Sunday  in  my  barouche.  He  raised  up  his  head,  and 
said,  "I  will  not  do  it,  sir,  and  if  you  will  ask  Mrs. 
Perry,  I  am  sure  she  will  tell  you  I  am  right  in  refusing 
your  offer."  He  was  very  abstemious  in  all  things.  On 
several  occasions,  in  riding  the  circuit,  when  we  stopped 
on  the  roadside  to  take  a  lunch,  I  have  invited  him  to 
take  a  drink  of  brandy,  and  he  invariably  refused,  say- 
ing, the  weather  was  too  hot  to  drink  spirits.  He  came 
with  me  once  in  my  carriage  from  Pickens  Court  to 
Greenville,  when  I  happened  to  have  a  bottle  of  claret 
and  some  sugar  Avith  me.  The  weather  was  extremely 
hot,  the  roads  very  dusty,  and  we  were  both  a  good  deal 


Benjamin   Faneuil  Dunkin.  211 

fatigued.  Comiug  to  a  nice  spring  on  the  roadside  in  a 
shady  place,  I  proposed  that  we  should  stop  and  take  a 
snack.  He  readily  consented.  We  mixed  the  claret  and 
sugar  with  water  and  finished  the  bottle  before  we  started. 
After  resting  an  hour  or  two  in  the  shade,  enjoying  our 
lunch  and  claret,  the  chancellor  got  up  and  said  with 
great  gravity,  "I  do  not  know,  Mr.  Perry,  that  I  am  a 
better  man  than  I  was  when  we  first  came  to  this  spring, 
but  I  feel  a  great  deal  better." 

He  was  very  reticent  in  his  views  and  expressions  and 
averse  to  making  himself  prominent  in  any  way.  I 
served  with  him  twenty  years  in  the  board  of  trustees  of 
the  South  Carolina  College,  and  the  members  had  fre- 
quently very  warm  discussions,  in  which  most  of  the 
judges  took  a  part.  But  I  do  not  now  remember  that 
Chancellor  Dunkin  ever  participated  in  our  debates  more 
than  two  or  three  times  in  that  long  period.  He  was 
very  punctual  in  his  attendance  on  the  meetings  of  the 
board,  as  he  was  most  particular  in  the  discharge  of  all 
his  public  duties.  Whilst  I  was  editing  the  Southern 
Patriot,  during  a  great  political  excitement  in  South 
Carolina,  I  was  in  the  habit  of  publishing  and  comment- 
ing on  the  views  and  expressions  of  public  men,  whom  I 
met  in  social  intercourse.  The  chancellor  was  aware  of 
this  infirmity  on  my  part,  and  whenever  he  said  any- 
thing very  pointed  or  marked,  he  would  turn  to  me  and 
say,  "  Don't  put  that  in  your  paper,  Mr.  Perry." 

I  have  said  that  Chancellor  Dimkin  was  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  and  a  New  Englander,  I  have  likewise  stated 
that  he  was  ever  loyal  to  the  State  of  his  adoption  and 
home.  But  he  was  not  like  some  northern  men,  who 
professed  to  be  more  southern  in  their  views,  than  the 
people  of  the  South  themselves.  President  Johnson 
once  made  a  remark,  which  I  heartily  endorsed.  Speak- 
ing of  some  northern  man,  who  had  come  South,  and 
was  a  great  "  fire-eater,"  he  said,  "  Damn  a  Yankee,  who 
professes  to  be  more  of  a  southern  man  than  I  am." 
Chancellor  Dunkin,  in  his  love  and  devotion  to  South 


212  Benjamin   Faneuil  Dunkin. 

Carolina,  never  nn<k'i't(K)k  to  deny  the  instinct^;  of  his 
heart,  and  the  instinets  of  evcrv  lionorahle  man's  heart, 
for  the  lionie  of  his  birth  and  youth.  Whilst  on  tlie 
western  eir(;uit,  he  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Edward 
Everett,  his  classmate  in  the  Harvard  University,  urg- 
ing; him  in  very  warm  terms  to  attend  tlic  celebration  (I 
think)  the  tittieth  anniversary  of  their  graduation.  He 
showed  me  the  letter,  and  he  seemed  delighted  with  it. 
All  the  associations  of  his  youth  and  college  life  seemed 
to  be  revived  in  his  memory  and  heart.  He  was  fond 
of  a  good  joke  and  seemed  to  enjoy  it  much,  but  I  sel- 
dom saw  him  indulge  in  a  hearty  laugh  at  any  thing. 

The  State  Reports,  embodying  his  decisions  for  thirty 
years,  are  an  enduring  monument  of  his  fame  and  ability 
as  a  judge.  The  judicial  opinions  of  no  judge  in  South 
Carolina  were  written  with  more  marked  ability,  or  in 
better  taste.  His  style  was  admirable,  and  his  judgment 
was  always  sustained  by  authorities  and  learning. 

In  person,  Chancellor  Dunkin  was  a  fine  looking  gen- 
tleman, rather  over  the  ordinary  height,  and  remarkably 
erect  in  old  age.  His  manners  were  dignified  and  refined. 
On  the  bench,  although  punctilious,  he  was  courteous  and 
civil  to  the  bar  and  every  one.  He  never  for  a  moment 
indulged  in  any  petty  tyranny,  or  coarse  rudeness.  He 
was  a  gentleman  by  birth,  education,  association  and  na- 
ture; and  he  never  forgot  the  respect  due  from  one  gen- 
tleman to  another,  under  any  circumstances.  He  always 
exercised  great  patience  in  listening  to  the  argument  of  a 
case,  no  matter  how  dull  and  hea\y  it  might  be.  No  one 
dared  to  talk  to  him,  off  the  bench,  about  the  cases  in 
court. 

I  have  said  his  decrees  were  always  \vell  written  and 
sustained  by  the  citation  of  authorities  as  well  as  logical 
reasoning.  I  remember  one  exception.  I  filed  a  bill, 
in  the  court  at  Anderson,  to  set  aside  a  marriage  as 
fraudulent,  null  and  void.  In  a  fit  of  delirium  tremens, 
an  old  bachelor  of  considerable  property,  sent  off  for  a 
woman  in  the  neighborhood  and  married  her.     He  gave 


Benjamin  Faneuil  Dunkin.  21:) 

08  a,  reason  that  his  clot'k  had  told  him,  that  if  he  did  not 
marry  her  forthwith,  he  wovild  die  that  evening.  He 
remained  all  night  a  madman  and  never  went  to  bed. 
The  woman  Aveut  off,  and  came  back  the  next  day,  when 
his  fit  had  passed  over,  and  he  refused  to  let  her  enter 
his  house.  There  never  had  been  any  intimacy  between 
them.  I  made  an  elaborate  argument  in  the  case,  and 
cited  a  good  many  cases;  General  Thompson  and  Judge 
Reed,  also  argued  the  case  with  me,  and  Judge  Whituer 
and  Governor  Orr  were  on  the  other  side.  We  all  ex- 
pectal  a  long  and  learned  decree.  The  chancellor  took 
all  the  papers  with  him,  and  after  keeping  them  two  or 
three  months,  sent  his  decree  in  these  words:  "In  this 
case,  the  bill  is  dismissed,  B.  F.  Dunkin."  Very  short, 
clear  and  explicit,  but  surely  neither  elaborate,  logical  nor 
learned  in  its  conclusion,  or  reasoning  ! 

If  there  had  been  any  wisdom,  or  decency  in  the  Leg- 
islature, after  reconstruction.  Chief  Justice  Dunkin,  so 
eminent  for  his  learning  and  ability,  would  have  been 
retained  in  his  high  office.  But  he  was  thrown  aside  to 
make  room,  as  all  the  other  judges  were,  for  those  who 
Avere  willing  to  barter  principles  for  office.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  will  not  continue  longer  than  the  next 
Legislature,  and  that  learning  and  respectability  will 
then  be  preferred  to  ignorance,  low  breeding  and  vulgar 
tyranny. 


BAYLIS  J.  EARLE. 

Judge  Earle  Avas  the  eldest  sou  of  the  Houorable 
Samuel  Earle,  of  Peudletou  District,  South  Carolina,  a 
gallant  Revolutionary  officer  and  member  of  Congress, 
representing  the  whole  western  portion  of  the  State  in 
1796.  He  was  a  man  of  large  fortune,  for  the  upper 
country,  and  self-educated.  In  his  intercourse  with 
public  men,  whilst  in  Congress,  he  felt  keenly  the  de- 
fects of  his  early  education,  and  determined  to  give  all  of 
his  sons  every  advantage  which  schools  and  colleges 
could  bestow.  He  was  a  man  of  high  and  pure  char- 
acter, but  most  eccentric  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life. 
Having  served  his  State  in  the  Legislature,  in  the  con- 
-vcntion  which  adopted  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  in 
the  United  States  Congress,  he  voluntarily  withdrew 
from  pubhc  life,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  management 
of  his  various  farms  in  Pendleton  and  Green\nlle.  He 
lived  to  an  old  age,  and  in  great  retirement,  joined  the 
Baptist  church,  and  was  much  esteemed  by  his  neighbors. 

I  read  law  three  years  in  the  office  of  Judge  Earle, 
who  was  then  Solicitor  of  the  Western  Circuit ;  and  I 
am  indebted  to  him  for  many  acts  of  kindness  and  favor 
shown  me.  He  was  a  man  of  very  superior  endowments 
by  natm'e,  and  highly  accomplished  as  a  writer  and 
speaker.  In  person  he  was  strikingly  handsome,  manly 
and  beautiflil,  if  the  term  can  be  applied  to  a  gentleman. 
But  there  was  nothing  of  vanity  about  him  on  account 
of  his  fine  appearance.  He  did  not  seem  to  regard  it  at 
all,  but  rather  disliked  any  compliment  on  that  account. 
He  was,  however,  a  man  of  great  pride  or  character,  and 
dignified  in  his  manners.     I  once  lieard  Judge  Huger 


Baylis  J.  Earle.  215 

say  of  him,  before  his  elevatiou  to  the  beucli,  that  his 
manners  were  more  judicial  than  any  one  he  had  ever 
met.  He  was  a  fine  scholar,  and  possessed  great  literary 
taste.  He  spoke  and  wrote  with  great  accuracy  and 
purity.  There  was  nothing  ornate  or  pretentious  in  his 
style.  He  had  taken  Addison  as  his  model  when  a  stu- 
dent, and  all  of  his  writings  Avere  marked  for  their 
clearness,  piu^ity  and  simplicity.  He  seldom  indulged  in 
metaphors  or  figures  of  speech. 

Judge  Earle  graduated  in  the  South  Carolina  College 
at  sixteen,  and  took  the  first  honors  of  his  class,  which 
was  one  of  great  talent  and  scholarship.  But  none  of 
his  class  even  competed  with  him  for  the  first  honor. 
He  was  the  youngest  member  of  his  class  and  the  first 
scholar  in  it.  He  read  law  with  John  Taylor,  then 
solicitor  of  the  Western  Circuit,  and  afterwards  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  from  the  districts  of  Pendleton  and 
Greenville.  At  twenty-one  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
and  established  himself  at  Greenville.  He  represented 
the  district  two  years  in  the  Legislature,  and  was  then 
elected  solicitor  by  a  very  large  majority  over  Chancellor 
Bowie,  of  Alabama.  Until  liis  election  as  solicitor  such 
was  his  diffidence  and  modesty  that  he  scarcely  attempted 
to  make  a  speech  at  the  bar.  After  this,  he  was  forced 
to  argue  his  sessions  business,  and  made  the  model  of  a 
prosecuting  officer.  He  presented  the  facts  of  the  case 
clearly  and  succinctly,  referred  to  the  law  correctly,  and 
left  the  jury  to  decide  the  case  under  the  instructions  of 
the  judge.  He  had  one  of  the  fairest  minds  that  I  liave 
ever  known,  and  his  judgment  was  always  dis})assi()nate. 
He  never  urged  the  conviction  of  a  criminal  unless  the 
circumstances  warranted  it.  Where  the  guilt  of  the 
prisoner  was  the  settled  conviction  of  his  mind,  he  always 
presented  the  circumstances  of  the  case  with  great  force 
and  clearness.  He  was  abvays  well  prepared  in  his  ses- 
sions business,  and  did  not  present  more  witn<sses  than 
were  necessary  in  making  out  the  case  in  the  first  in- 
stance, reserving  the  others  for  the  reply.     In  tlic  trinl  i>i' 


216  Baylis  J.  Eakle. 

Sims  at  Newberry,  for  the  murder  of  li  is  father,  although 
the  evideuoc  Avas  circumstantial  and  mysterious,  he  was 
satisfied  of  his  guilt,  and  thought  the  crime  so  horrible 
that  he  should  not  escape  punishment.  He  argued  the 
case  with  great  ability,  and  presented  the  facts  and  cir- 
cumstances in  such  a  way  as  forced  the  jury  to  a  con- 
viction. 

Judge  Earle  was  a  very  young  man  when  elected  to 
the  bench.  There  were  two  vacancies  to  be  filled,  and 
four  candidates.  He  was  elected  on  the  first  ballot,  and 
Judge  Martin  on  the  second  or  third  ballot.  Though 
yoimg,  he  proved  himself  the  equal  of  his  learned  asso- 
ciates, and  his  WTitten  judicial  opinions  in  the  Court  of 
Appeals  will  compare  Avell  with  those  of  any  other  judge 
on  the  bench.  Perhaps  in  style  and  composition,  they 
are  superior,  if  not  equal,  in  learning  and  research,  to 
those  of  older  judges.  In  college  he  must  have  been  a 
hard  student  to  have  w'on  the  honors  he  did  in  such  a 
graduating  class;  but  in  after  life  he  was  very  remiss  in 
his  studies,  and  did  not  devote  himself  to  his  profession 
as  he  should  have  done.  I  never  saw  Judge  Earle,  for 
three  years,  whilst  in  his  office,  read  law,  except  to  hunt 
up  authority  in  his  cases  in  court.  He  was  a  great  reader 
of  novels  and  polite  literatiu-e ;  fond  of  the  society  of  his 
friends  and  associates,  and  devoted  to  making  money, 
though  he  had  neither  wife  nor  child  to  inherit  his  for- 
tune. In  fact  Judge  Earle  had  but  little  time  to  read 
and  study  after  my  acquaintance  with  him.  His  circuit 
occupied  him  six  or  seven  weeks  in  the  fall  and  spring. 
He  had  to  attend  the  Court  of  Appeals  twice  every  year, 
and  the  sitting  of  the  Legislature.  In  the  latter  part  of 
summer,  which  was  the  only  recreation  he  had,  he  gen- 
erally traveled  North,  or  went  to  some  w-atering-place. 
Hence  his  time  was  almost  constantly  occupied,  to  the 
exclusion  of  those  studies  to  which  he  might  otherwise 
have  devoted  himself. 

Judge  Earle  was,  as  I  have  already  intimated,  a  most 
conscientious  and  honorable  man,  despising  all  meanness, 


Baylis  J.  Earle.  217 

deception  aud  flattery.  He  was  fair  and  open  iu  all  his 
conduct,  and  never  took  an  advantage  in  private  or 
public.  Nothing  would  induce  him  to  show  respect  or 
confidence  where  he  did  not  think  it  was  deserved.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  sensibility,  at  all  times,  and  fre- 
quently morbid  in  his  feelings.  Ordinarily  his  manners 
were  courteous  and  cordial,  but  sometimes,  in  his  morbid 
moods,  he  seemed  careless  of  the  ordinarj^  civihties  of 
life,  and  rude  to  his  best  friends.  He  would  pass  them 
or  meet  them  as  if  he  did  not  wish  to  speak  to  them  or 
notice  them.  On  one  occasion  he  passed  a  very  intimate 
acquaintance  without  noticing  him  who  afterwards  said 
to  him  when  they  met  again  cordially :  "  I  wish  you 
Avoukl  give  your  friends  some  intimation  beforehand, 
when  you  are  not  disposed  to  recognize  them  or  pass 
with  them  the  ordinary  civilities  of  life."  His  tem- 
lieiament  was  unfortunate,  and  he  seemed  to  have  in- 
herited a  good  deal  of  liis  father's  gloomy,  desponding 
nature. 

Judge  Earle  was  a  proud  man,  and  an  ambitious  man, 
but  without  that  energy  of  character,  perseverance  and 
indomitable  will  that  are  necessaiy  to  crown  ambition 
with  success.  In  fact  he  was  too  conscientious,  too 
modest,  and  too  proud,  for  ordinary  success  in  life.  He 
despised  the  unscrupulous,  and  had  a  contempt  for  igno- 
rance, which  he  would  not  conceal,  and  did  not  M'ish  to 
conceal.  No  man  ever  lived  who  had  less  of  the  tricks 
and  the  arts  of  the  demagogue  about  him.  He  courted 
no  popularity  and  was  too  sincere  and  proud  to  do  so. 
His  talents,  learning,  probity,  and  sincerity  of  character, 
gave  him  all  the  popularity  he  eve]"  possessed.  The  wise 
and  virtuous  refpiired  nothing  more  ;  the  base  and  vulgar 
had  to  seek  their  idol  iu  some  less  deserving  favorite. 
That  he  was  not  suited  for  political  life,  he  well  knew. 
In  the  first  place,  he  was  not  calculated  to  win  the  popu- 
larity of  the  masses,  and  he  ^vas  too  honest  and  sincere 
to  struggle  with  the  art  and  cunning  of  politicians.  1 
know,  however,   he  would  hnvo  liked  to  have  been  in 


218  Bay  LIS  J.  Earle. 

('uu^fress,  aud  he  said  tlmt  a  swit  in  the  Senate  of  the 
Unitetl  States  was  the  height  of  his  ambition. 

The  human  lieart  must  have  something  to  love — wife, 
child,  horse,  dog,  honors  or  riches.  Judge  Earle  had 
neitiier  wife  nor  child  to  share  his  affections,  and  the  love 
of  money  seemed  to  occupy  their  place.  This  love  of 
money  is  a  strange  passion  in  the  human  heart,  and  can- 
not be  accounted  for  on  any  philosophical  principles. 
Men  who  have  no  children,  and  no  ver\'  great  love  for 
any  one  in  particidar,  will  often  toil  and  strive  through 
life  to  accumulate  wealth.  They  do  very  often  deny 
thenLselves  all  the  pleasures  and  comforts  of  hving,  to 
make  money  aud  hoard  it  up.  Why  they  will  do  this, 
^^•hen  there  is  no  one  to  whom  they  care  to  leave  their 
riches,  is  very  strange  and  unaccountable.  They  know 
they  cannot  take  their  wealth  with  them  to  another 
^^■(Jrld,  and  they  know,  too,  that  no  one  is  left  behind  for 
whom  they  have  the  slightest  affection,  or  to  whom  they 
would  put  themselves  to  the  slightest  inconvenience  to 
serve  whilst  living.  It  seems  that  it  is  an  actual  pleasure 
to  accumulate  riches  without  any  reference  to  the  use  or 
benefit  they  may  be  to  themselves  or  any  one  else.  That 
man  should  love  to  make  money  to  gratify  his  own 
wants,  or  the  wants  of  his  family,  is  most  natural  and 
laudable.  That  he  should  love  the  possession  of  wealth 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  display  of  it,  is  easily  under- 
stood. That  he  should  desire  to  make  money  for  the 
purpose  of  doing  good  with  it,  assisting  the  poor  and 
needy,  and  improving  his  country,  is  noble  and  worthy 
of  ail  praise.  But  that  any  sensible  man  should  love  to 
make  money  to  hide  and  conceal  from  the  world,  and 
live  in  poverty  and  want  whilst  doing  so,  without  any 
I)urpose  of  using  that  money  for  himself  or  others,  is 
what  the  human  mind  is  hardly  able  to  comprehend. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life.  Judge  Earle  was  attacked 
Avith  paralysis,  and  threatened  with  a  renewal  of  the 
stroke.  I  knew  that  he  had  long  desired  to  make  the 
(our  of  Europe,  and  I  urged  him  to  resign  his  seat  on 


Baylis  J.  Eaelk.  219 

the  bench,  and  take  a  trip  across  the  Atlantic,  which 

might  possibly  restore  his  health.     He  replied  that  he 

could  not  aiford  the  expense  of  such  a  trip.     I  said  to 

him,  very  earnestly,  "  Your  life  is  of  more  importance  to 

you  than  your  money."     I  knew  that  he  had  the  control 

of  unlimited  means.     But  he.  declined  to  make  the  trip 

on  that  ground  solely,  and  afterwards  fell  dead  on  the 

Hoor  of  the  Mansion  House  in  Greenville.     He  had  a 

large  fortune  but  left  no  will,  which  showed  there  was  no 

one  in  particular  for  whom  he  cared  to  leave  his  fortune. 

In  the  character  of  Judge  Earle  there  was  another 

Aveakness  more  inexcusable  than  his  love  of  money,  and 

tar  more  injurious  to  his  health  and  happiness.     He  was, 

as  I  have  already  said,  a  man  of  high  character,  pure 

jmd  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty  to  his 

fellow  men.     He  was  a    proud    man,  an   accomplished 

gentleman,  an  exceedingly  handsome  person,  ^\ath  talents 

and  acquirements  which  would  have  adorned  any  station. 

He  was  ambitious,  and  as  sensitive  as  a  woman  to  his 

honor  and  reputation.     And  yet  with  all  these  high  and 

noble  qualities  of  head,  heart  and  person,  he  could  not 

restrain  himself  in  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors.     He  was 

not  like  some  men  whom  I  have  seen,  and  who,  Mr. 

Pettigru  said,  had  their  gauge,  and  who  could  drink  a 

good  deal  and  keep  up.     The  judge  was  not  an  habitual 

drinker,  but  when  he  did  drink  he  exercised  no  prudence 

or  concealment.     It  seemed  he  was  too  honest  to  conceal 

his  faults  and  foibles.     Governor  Wilson  once  preferred 

charges  against  him,  to  the  Legislature,  for  intemperance, 

in  order  to  gratify  his  revenge  for  a  supposed  insult  in 

court.     I  was  at  that  time  a  member  of  the  House  of 

Representatives,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Major  Henry, 

of  Spartanburg,  had  the  charge  laid  on  the  table.    I  went 

immediately  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  to  inform  Judge 

Earle  of  the  result.     I  found  him  anxiously  pacing  the 

portico ;  and  after  telling  the  fate  of  the  charges  against 

him,   I  cautioned   him  as  to  the  future  in   very   strong 


220  Baylis  J.  Earle. 

ti'i'ins.  I  siiul  to  him  that  it  wa«  a  seaudal  to  see  a 
gentleman  of  his  character  and  position  go  into  a  grog- 
sho])  or  bar-room  and  call  for  a  drink.  His  friends 
would  always  be  glad  to  join  him  in  a  social  glass  at 
their  houses,  and  when  at  home  he  could  drink  as  he 
pk'ase<l.  I  knew  that  at  his  own  house  he  never  in- 
dulged to  excess.  He  promised  most  solemnly  that  he 
would  do  so ;  but,  like  all  such  promises,  they  were  soon 
forgotten. 

I  was  in  Cohmibia  attending  the  Court  of  Appeals 
when  Judge  Earle  died.  Judges  Richardson  and  Butler 
came  to  my  room  immediately  after  hearing  the  sad  in- 
telligence, and  requested  me  to  draft  suitable  resolutions 
for  the  adoption  of  the  bar,  and  have  them  presented  to 
the  court  the  next  morning.  Colonel  William  C.  Preston 
presided  at  our  bar  meeting ;  and  on  presenting  the 
resolutions  to  the  court,  they  were  ordered  to  be  copied 
on  their  minutes.  Judge  Earle  was  greatly  esteemed  by 
his  brethren  of  the  bench  and  the  bar  of  South  Carolina, 
as  well  as  by  all  w4io  knew  him. 

In  politics.  Judge  Earle  was  a  States'  rights  man,  of 
the  Crawford  and  Smith  school,  and  was  opposed  to  Mr. 
Calhoun  and  his  National  doctrines  whilst  Secretary  of 
War.  The  judge  afterwards  became  a  nullifier  and 
identified  with  that  party.  We  differed  widely  in  our 
jDolitical  creeds  in  1832,  and  this  difference  was  painful 
to  me.  It  did  not,  however,  interfere  with  our  social 
relations. 

Judge  Earle,  as  I  have  said,  was  never  married.  He 
lived  and  died  an  old  bachelor.  This  he  deeply  re- 
gretted to  me  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life.  I  told  him 
it  was  not  too  late  to  retrieve  the  great  error  of  his  life, 
but  he  said  it  was.  He  could  not  then  expect  to  live  to 
see  his  children  brought  up  and  educated.  Moreover, 
he  had  doubts  all  his  life,  whether  he  was  suited  to  a 
married  man.  He  was  afraid  he  might  repent  marry- 
ing.    Some  one,  it  is  said,  asked  Solon   whether  it  was 


Baylis  J.  Earle.  221 

better  to  marry  or  live  single  ?  The  old  philosopher  re- 
plied, "  Do  which  you  will,  and  you  will  repent  of  it." 
Judge  Earle  verified  the  truth  of  Solon's  remark  by 
living  single.  Had  he  married  he  might  not  have  re- 
pented. Some  remain  single  in  consequence  of  early 
disappointment,  but  this  was  not  the  case  with  Judge 
Earle.  I  feel  assured  he  never  addressed  a  lady  in  his 
life,  and  there  were  few  who  could  have  refiised  him. 


THOMAS  J.  WITHERS. 

Judge  Withers  was  a  man  of  distingiiislied  taleut  and 
al)iHtv.  His  intellect  was  as  keen  and  bri":ht  as  a  Da- 
masons  blade,  and  he  ^^•ielded  it  on  all  occasions,  in  public 
and  in  private,  most  effectually.  Everv  word  that  fell 
from  Ills  lips  in  conversation,  on  the  Bench,  or  in  public 
speaking,  had  a  telling  effect.  No  one  was  ever  lefl  in 
doubt  as  to  his  meaning  when  he  discussed  any  question. 
He  had  moral  courage  in  a  high  degree,  and  cared  not 
whom  he  pleased  or  offended.  He  was  veiy  sarcastic  and 
bitter  in  his  denunciations  of  men  and  measures.  No 
one  ever  possessed  less  of  the  demagogue  than  Judge 
Withers.  No  one  ever  more  conscientiously  did  what  he 
thought  was  right,  regardless  of  consequences.  He  was  in 
bad  health  all  his  life,  and  somewhat  misanthropic.  He 
never  courted  popularity,  and  scorned  the  base  means 
which  others  resorted  to  for  this  pni-pose.  The  high  pub- 
lie  offices  which  he  filled  were  conferred  on  him  for  his 
talents,  ability  and  honesty,  and  not  on  account  of  any 
personal  popularity  which  he  possessed.  There  was  a 
spice  of  malice  in  his  composition  which  delighted  in 
wreaking  itself  on  unworthy  men  and  measures.  He  was 
as  oyxiu  as  the  day,  and  if  he  disliketl  anyone,  he  showed 
it  in  a  manner  not  to  be  mistaken.  Frankness  was  his 
character. 

Judge  Withers  was  born  in  York  District.  He  told  me 
his  parents  were  "poor,  obscure  and  honest."  In  early 
boyhood,  he  displayed  a  great  promise,  and  became  the 
protege  of  Judge  William  Smith,  who  was,  at  that  time, 
United  States  Senator.  He  was  A\'ell  educated,  and  gradu- 
ated in  the  South  Carolina  College  with  hii>h  distinction. 


Thomas  J.  Withers.  223 

Inniiediately  after  his  graduation,  he  took  charge  of  the 
Cohinibia  Telescope,  and  edited  that  paper  with  great 
abihty,  for  two  or  three  years.  In  the  mean  time  he  read 
law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar.  He  was  a  fierce  Nul- 
Hfier,  and  when  Governor  INIiller  was  brought  out  by  the 
NuHification  party,  in  opposition  to  his  old  patron,  Judge 
Smith,  he  resigned  the  editorship  of  the  Telescope.  He 
would  not  abandon  his  political  principles,  and  he  could 
not  enter  the  canvass  against  his  old  friend  and  jjatron.  He 
therefore,  actuated  by  the  most  honorable  motives,  stepped 
aside,  and  took  no  part  in  the  contest.  Governor  Miller  was, 
at  that  time,  the  only  man  in  South  Carolina,  who  could 
have  beaten  Judge  Smith.  He  did  beat  him  a  few  votes, 
which  gave  encouragement  and  success  to  the  Nullifica- 
tion party  in  South  Carolina. 

Judge  Withers  commenced  the  practice  of  law  at  Cam- 
den, and  soon  acquired  a  lucrative  practice  and  a  liigh 
reputation  as  a  law}^er.  He  was  soon  elected  Solictor  of 
his  circuit  over  Chancellor  Dargan,  who  was  the  opposing 
candidate.  The  duties  of  this  office  he  discharged  with 
great  ability  and  impartiality.  His  health  became  bad, 
and  he  resigned  the  office,  after  he  had  filled  it  for  many 
years,  and  had  been  several  times  re-elected.  He  contin- 
ued, however,  in  his  profession  till  he  was  elected  Circuit 
Law  Judge  of  the  State.  He  first  took  his  seat  on  the 
Bench  at  Spartanburg,  and  delivered  a  most  admirable 
charge  to  the  grand  jury.  When  court  adjourned  for  din- 
ner, I  complimented  him  on  his  self-possession  in  taking 
his  seat  for  the  first  time  on  the  Bench.  He  said  to  me, 
"  I  was  utterly  confused  and  embarrassed,  but  the  beauty 
of  it  was,  I  let  no  one  see  it." 

As  a  judge,  he  was  always  clear,  able  and  learned.  On 
the  circuit  he  dispatched  business  with  great  promptness, 
and  his  opinions  in  the  Court  of  Appeals  will  compare 
well  with  those  of  any  other  judge.  He  acquired  con- 
siderable reputation  as  a  writer  whilst  editing  a  paper, 
and  it  iucrea.sed  through  life.  There  was  great  force  and 
]ioint  in  his  style  a.s  ^vell  as  beauty  of  composition.     His 


224  Thomas   J    Witjikrs. 

s})ch.h'1k'.s  at  the  J  Jar  wciv  always  logical  and  lucid,  sonic- 
tinies  fiercely  denunciatory.  He  was  a  very  high-toned 
and  honorable  nun),  and  no  one  was  more  a})t  than  him- 
self, to  denounce  and  expose  all  meanness  and  dishonor- 
able conduct.  He  seemed  to  take  great  pleasure  in  doing 
so,  Avherc  he  might  sometimes  have  passed  it  over  with- 
out notice.  He  was  by  nature  very  passionate,  and  his 
ill  health  made  him  irritable  and  peevish.  This  some- 
times occurred  on  the  Bench,  and  made  him  appear  want- 
ing in  proper  coiutesy. 

In  the  trial  of  a  case  at  Anderson,  for  retailing  without 
license,  the  Hon.  J.  P.  Reed  was  defending,  and  Judge 
Whituer,  then  Solicitor,  was  prosecuting.  The  Town 
Council  had  refused  to  grant  any  license  to  retail  spirits  to 
any  one.  This  measure  became  very  unpopular,  and  de- 
fendant set  it  at  defiance,  hoping  that  he  could  appeal  to 
popular  prejudice,  and  be  acquitted.  The  Sohcitor,  in 
order  to  prove  the  retailing,  put  the  defendant's  counsel 
on  the  stand,  who  stated  that  he  did,  on  some  occasions, 
call  for  a  drink,  and  paid  defendant  for  it.  In  the  argu- 
ment of  the  case,  the  defendant's  counsel  declaimed  forci- 
bly and  at  great  length  on  the  injustice  of  the  mdictment, 
under  the  circumstances,  and  argued  an  acquittal  as  a  re- 
buke to  such  petty  tyranny,  etc.  In  charging  the  jury 
liis  Honor  said,  "  There  is  only  one  question,  gentlemen, 
for  your  consideration  in  tliis  case,  and  that  is,  whether 
the  defendant's  counsel  who  proved  the  retailing  is  to  be 
beheved  on  oath?  If  you  think  him  worthy  of  credit, 
you  will  find  a  verdict  of  guilty,  otherwise  your  verdict 
will  be  not  guilty.  Give  the  record  to  the  jury,  Mr. 
Sheriff." 

The  judge  told  me  of  a  piece  of  malice  and  passion  on 
his  part,  which  I  did  not  think  altogether  right.  He 
was  going  from  Camden  to  Sumter  court  in  an  old  sulky. 
It  was  late  in  the  evening  and  raining  very  hard,  the 
weather,  too,  was  quite  cliilly,  and  he  thought  he  would 
stop  for  the  night  at  the  next  house.  He  drove  up,  and 
the  gentleman,  who  was  pacing  l)ack  and  forth  in  a  long 


Thomas  J.  Withers.  225 

piazza,  took  do  notice  of  him  till  he  asked  if  he  could  get 
to  stay  all  night  with  him.  The  gentleman  replied 
promptly  that  he  did  not  keep  a  pubHc  house,  and  con- 
tinued his  promenade.  This  cold,  inhospitable  reception 
nettled  the  judge,  and  he  said  to  the  gentleman,  "  I  did 
not  mistake  your  residence,  sir,  for  a  hotel,  but  I  thought 
your  kindness  and  humanity  would  prompt  you  to  give 
shelter  in  such  weather  as  this,  to  a  wet  and  suffering  fel- 
low-creature like  myself.  If  there  had  been  a  public 
house  anywhere  on  the  road,  I  should  not  have  called  on 
you."  By  this  time  the  gentleman  ascertained  who  he 
was,  and  yery  poHtely  asked  him  to  alight,  and  said  he 
would  be  happy  to  have  the  pleasure  of  his  company  for 
the  night.  "No,"  said  the  judge,  "I  will  drive  in  the 
night  through  the  rain  to  Sumter  Court  House,  before  I 
will  take  shelter  with  such  a  man  as  you  are,"  and  he 
drove  off.  "  This  fellow,"  said  the  Judge,  "was  a  wealthy 
man,  and  a  shining  light  in  the  Presb}i:erian  Church. 
He  afterwards  became  a  candidate  for  the  Legislatiu-e, 
and  I  took  great  pleasure  in  telling  about  his  inhospita- 
ble conduct,  which  damaged  his  election  considerably,  and 
he  was  defeated." 

Judge  Withers  was,  for  a  number  of  years,  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  South  Carolina  College. 
He  told  me  that  a  young  brother  of  his  was  represented 
to  him  as  being  very  talented,  and  he  determined  to  edu- 
cate him.  He  gave  him  money,  and  sent  him  to  the 
South  Carolina  College.  The  young  man  thought  he 
needed  a  great  deal  more  clothing,  etc.,  than  he  had  money 
to  purchase.  Therefore,  he  opened  accoimts  with  sundry 
merchants  in  Columbia,  who  all  sent  their  bills  in  due 
time  to  the  judge  for  payment.  His  brother  had  given 
him  no  notice  of  his  indebtedness,  and  the  judge  was 
shocked  at  the  amount  of  these  various  bills.  He  imme- 
diately sat  down  and  drew  up  a  bill  for  the  board  of  trns- 
teas  to  request  the  Legislature  to  pass,  making  it  indict- 
able and  punishable  with  fine  and  imprisonment  for  any 
merchant  to  sell  goods  to  a  student  of  the  college,  on  a 


226  Thomas  J.  Withers. 

cralit.  This  bill  provided  further,  tliat  if  any  lawyer 
should  sue  on,  or  attempt  to  collect  any  such  accounts, 
he  was  also  to  be  fined  and  imprisoned,  and,  perhaps, 
stricken  from  the  roll.  When  submitted  to  the  board  of 
trustees,  the  extraordinary  features  of  this  bill  excited 
some  mirth,  and  the  judge  could  get  no  one  to  second 
the  motion  for  sending  it  to  the  Legislature.  The  judge 
was  so  much  disgusted  with  the  reception  his  bill  met  in 
the  board  of  trustees,  that  he  swore  he  W'Ould  never  at- 
tend another  meeting  of  the  board,  and  never  did,  to  my 
remembrance. 

Judo;e  Withers  married  the  sister-in-law  of  Governor 
Miller,  a  Miss  Boykiu,  who  owned  a  valuable  plantation 
in  Kershaw  District,  and  a  large  number  of  slaves.  His 
treatment  to  the  slaves,  and  management  of  the  planta- 
tion, was  so  kind,  indulgent  and  humane  that  it  dis- 
pleased some  of  his  neighbors,  who  said  it  Avas  a  bad 
example  in  the  neighborhood,  and  demoralized  the  slaves 
on  the  other  plantations.  This  determined  the  judge, 
as  he  told  me  himself,  to  sell  out  and  invest  the  pro- 
ceeds in  bank  stocks  and  bonds  and  mortgages.  With 
all  of  his  temper  and  irritability.  Judge  Withers  was  a 
very  kind-hearted  gentleman,  and  most  indulgent  and 
affectionate  in  all  the  relations  of  Kfe.  His  house  ser- 
vants did  pretty  much  as  they  pleased,  and  he  did  not 
pretend  to  watch  over  them.  On  one  occasion,  he  told 
me,  that  his  carriage-driver,  in  whom  he  had  placed 
great  confidence,  was  caught  in  a  theft,  and  he  thought 
it  was  a  good  opportunity  of  having  a  general  confession 
of  all  his  roguery  and  rascality.  He  asked  the  fellow  if 
he  had  not  been  stealing  his  corn  and  fodder  and  selling 
it.  The  boy  declared  that  so  far  from  having  done  so, 
he  did,  on  one  or  two  occasions,  when  the  judge  was 
short  of  fodder,  steal  a  few  bundles  of  one  of  the 
neighbors  to  feed  his  horses  with  ! 

Judge  Withers  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Southern 
or  Confederate  Congress,  and  assisted  greatly  m  framnig 
the  plan   of  government  adopted  for  the  Confederate 


Thomas  J.  Withers.  227 

States.  I  received  from  him  whilst  in  Montgomery,  a 
long  and  most  cordial  letter,  from  which  I  will  make  a 
few  extracts  :  "  I  am  exercised  in  a  calling,  at  present, 
which  is  to  me  wholly  novel.  I  never  dreamed  of  being 
a  member  of  Congress,  especially  one  to  make  a  Consti- 
tution, and  then  laws  under  it.  Circumstances  seemed, 
to  a  majority,  to  demand  imperatively  the  exercise  by 
this  Congress  of  the  legislative  power  for  a  time,  a  short 
one  I  hope.  I  have  no  taste  for  this  kind  of  life,  no 
penchant  for  office,  no  art  in  concocting  and  executing 
the    schemes  in    which  politicians  delight   and   thrive. 

*  *  *  *  I  never  had  a  doubt  on  two  points 
as  to  yourself:  First,  that  you  would  unflinchingly 
maintain  your  opinion  to  the  last.  Second,  that  when 
the  last  came,  that  is,  when  the  State  overruled  your 
opinions  and  took  a  final  step,  you  would  travel  with 
her.  I  heard  you  so  declarecl  in  December,  and  it  did, 
in  no  wise,  surprise  me.  I  was  sure  I  knew  you  too 
well  to  believe  you  one  of  those  prophets,  who,  having 
predicted  a  course  taken  by  his  country  to  be  unwise, 
hazardous  and  evil,  would,  to  maintain  his  prophecy, 
work  to  fullfil  it.  *  *  *  *  You  will  have 
seen  before  you  read  this,  that  Davis  is  assigned  to  the 
Presidency,  and  Stephens  to  the  Vice-Presidency.  Both 
elections  were  unanimous,  and  the  election  of  the  latter 
will  prove  to  you  that  this  Congress  is  not  prescriptive." 

*  *  *  On  his  return  to  Camden,  he  wrote  me. 
"  My  liking  for  active  service  in  State  aifairs  does  not 
increase,  though  it  may  grow  on  what  it  feeds  on.  I 
am  not  in  the  ways  of  tough  politicians,  and  you  know 
it  is  hard  to  learn  an  old  monkey  new  tricks.  My  place 
is  about  the  hearth-stone,  as  I  think,  and  I  strongly  sus- 
pect my  colleagues  in  political  adventures  will  give  the 
same  testimony." 

In  August,  1865,  Judge  Withers  wrote  me  a  long 
letter  inquiring  as  to  the  duties  of  a  judge  under  the 
circumstances  in  which  our  State  then  was.  He  com- 
menced his  letter  by   stating,   "I  can  avow,   with  all 


228  Thomas  J.  Withers. 

candor,  that  I  am  ^lad  the  executive  ])ower  for  this  State 
has  been  placed  by  the  Executive  of  the  United  States, 
in  your  hands,  for  I  think  I  know  you  have  tliose 
elements  of  true  manhood  in  your  composition  that  will 
work  out  to  individuals  of  merit,  and  to  the  public, 
which  makes  up  what  is  left  to  the  State,  all  the  good 
which  we  can  expect  in  the  uuhaj^py  circumstances  in 
which  we  are  placed."  At  the  close  of  his  letter  he  says : 
"  I  am  in  a  very  inconvenient  condition  to  discharge  ju- 
dicial duties  outside  of  my  house.  I  have  not  a  dollar, 
and  know  not  where  to  get  one.  My  estate,  i.  e.,  what 
was  my  estate,  is  in  the  hands  of  others,  and  I  have 
much  reason  to  apprehend  they  intend  it  shall  remain 
there.  I  mean  the  most  of  them.  At  present,  they 
seem  to  commend  starvation  to  me,  with  that  philosophy, 
not  unnatural  to  a  full  stomach,  when  contemplating  an 
empty  one.  I  fear  a  stern  and  high  morality  in  respect 
to  contracts  will  not  again  be  seen  in  your  day  and 
mine.  God  jjreserve  us  against  the  leprosy  of  stop-laws 
or  pine  barren  laws,  got  up  by  rogues  to  cheat  honest  men." 

Judge  Withers  was  a  man  of  great  wit  and  humor, 
and  most  scathing  sarcasm.  He  told  me  an  amusing  in- 
cident between  him  and  the  pastor  of  his  church.  The 
reverend  gentleman  applied  to  him  to  receive  into  his 
house,  a  young  teacher,  for  twelve  months  or  so,  whom 
he  represented  as  amiable,  accomplished  and  pious,  really 
a  most  lovely  and  charming  person.  The  judge  said  to  me, 
the  idea  of  making  a  stranger  a  member  of  his  family,  was 
what  he  could  not  think  of  for  a  moment.  He  hesitated 
what  to  say,  and  at  last,  the  idea  suggested  itself  of  turning 
the  application  into  a  joke.  He  replied  very  seriously : 
"  Ah  !  I  see  what  you  are  after,  you  want  to  make  mischief 
between  me  and  my  wife."  The  clergyman  was  so  much 
shocked  at  this  interpretation,  that  he  simply  bowed  and 
passed  on  to  seek  quarters  for  his  protege  elsewhere. 

Judge  Withers  was  a  gentleman  of  ordinary  height,  deli- 
cately slender,  with  Grecian  face  and  features  in  character 
with  his  mind,  sharp  and  keen.  He  was  a  great  talker  and 
talked  well. 


RICHARD  GANTT. 

Richard  Gantt  moved  to  Greenville  whilst  I  was  read- 
ing law.  His  son,  William  F,  Gautt,  had  been  admit- 
ted to  the  bar ;  he  established  himself  here  likemse.  He 
commenced  reviewing  his  studies  here  with  me,  whilst  I 
was  preparing  for  admission  to  the  bar.  We  read  in  the 
same  office  a  good  portion  of  the  time,  and  Judge  Gantt 
would  occasionally  pay  us  a  visit,  and  give  us  good  ad- 
vice as  to  our  studies.  He  inculcated  in  strong  terms 
temperance  in  all  things,  and  especially  abstinence,  total 
and  unqualified,  in  the  use  of  spirits.  He  told  us  we 
must  not  only  be  diligent  and  industrious,  but  we  must 
be  pious  also,  to  succeed  in  life.  He  advised  us  to  mem- 
orize an  old  prayer  of  Lord  Coke's,  and  kneel  down 
every  morning  after  opening  our  office  and  repeat  it. 
The  Judge's  great  piety,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  was  by 
fits  and  starts.  As  an  instance  of  it  I  Avill  mention 
the  following  andecdote,  which  is  strictly  true. 

He  sent  for  a  Methodist  preacher,  who  was  a  mechanic, 
to  build  him  a  mill.  They  went  out  to  survey  the  mill- 
lot,  and  whilst  there  the  judge  proposed  that  they  should 
kneel  down  in  prayer.  The  clergyman  offered  up  a  very 
fervent  address  and  as  they  rose  from  their  knees,  the 
Judge  inquired  what  was  the  low^est  price  for  which  he 
could  afford  to  build  the  mill.  The  Methodist  stated  the 
sum,  which  was  so  much  more  than  what  the  judge  had 
expected  that  he  indignantly  replied :  "  You  are  a 
damned  extortioner," 

Judge  Gantt  was  a  most  eccentric  man,  and  some  of  his 
eccentricities  bordered  on  derangement.  He  was  one  of 
the  kindest-hearted  men  I  ever  knew.     He  had  frreat 


230  Richard  Gantt. 

humor  and  was  exceedingly  fond  of  telling  a  good  story. 
He  was  as  fickle  as  the  wind  in  all  his  plans  and  purposes 
of  life.  Before  he  came  to  Greenville,  he  was  moving 
from  place  to  place,  continually.  It  is  said  that  Edmund 
Bacon,  a  distinguishal  lawyer  of  Edgefield,  Avas  asked 
where  Judge  Gantt  lived.  He  replied  that  last  week  he 
was  living  at  such  a  place ;  "  but  he  did  not  know  how 
of^en  he  had  moved  since,  or  where  he  was  now  living." 
This  was  told  the  judge,  who  said  :  "  That  fellow  Bacon 
is  such  a  nuisance  that  if  he  goes  to  heaven  I  do  not  wish 
to  be  there  with  him."  If  all  the  stories  told  of  the 
judge,  and  those  told  by  him,  were  collected  and  pub- 
lished, they  would  make  a  most  amusing  volume. 

The  judge  was  a  very  eloquent  advocate  at  the  bar, 
and  had  a  high  reputation  as  a  criminal  lawyer.  On  one 
occasion,  he  and  Mr.  John  C  Calhoun  were  associated  in 
the  defence  of  a  case  of  homicide.  In  his  argument  as 
jimior  council,  Mr.  Calhoun  admitted  that  it  was  a  case 
of  manslaughter.  Judge  Gantt  followed  him  as  senior 
counsel  and  argued  that  it  was  a  case  of  excusable  homi- 
cide in  self-defence.  The  jury  acquitted  the  prisoner  en- 
tirely, notwithstanding  the  distinct  admission  of  his 
junior  counsel  that  it  was  a  case  of  manslaughter.  He 
had  a  noble  voice  and  was  a  most  fluent  and  impassioned 
speaker.  On  the  bench  he  always  took  the  side  of  the 
criminal,  and  most  generally  urged  an  acquittal.  A 
great  many  rogues  and  murderers  have  escaped  justice 
through  his  mistaken  compassion  and  mercy.  His 
charges  to  the  grand  and  petit  juries  were  sometimes  as- 
tonishing for  their  extravagance  and  folly. 

I  once  heard  Judge  Gantt,  at  Spartanburg,  denounce 
the  retailing  of  spirits  as  the  greatest  of  all  crimes,  as  it 
induced  all  others.  He  was  the  first  man  in  South  Car- 
olina who  lectured  against  the  use  of  spirits.  This  he 
did  in  his  charges  to  the  grand  juries,  long  before  the 
crusade  of  the  regular  temperance  lectures  in  this  State. 
He  said  to  the  jury  at  Spartanburg :  "  Do  you  suppose 
there  is  any  retailing  of  spirits  in  heaven  ?     How  would 


Richard  Gantt.  231 

it  look  to  see  the  Apostle  Paul  astride  a  whisky-barrel  ? 
St.  Peter  acting  as  tapster?  And  George  Washington 
playing  the  court-house  bully,  with  a  half-pint  tin-cup  in 
his  hand?  "  In  expressing  his  utter  detestation  of  spirits, 
he  said  :  "•  He  would  sooner  swallow  a  rattlesnake  than  a 
drop  of  sjjirits ;  proyided  it  was  a  small  one  that  could 
get  down  his  throat  easily." 

In  one  of  his  charges  to  the  petit  jury,  at  Greenville, 
in  a  case  of  fighting  in  the  streets  on  the  Fourth  of  July, 
he  told  them  that  they  ought  to  acquit  the  defendants. 
He  said  the  anniversary  of  American  Independence  was 
a  proud  day  to  every  patriot  in  the  land,  and  it  was  a 
day  on  which  the  American  people  had  a  right  to  fight ! 
They  should  not  be  prosecuted  for  the  exercise  of  this 
right,  so  nobly  maintained  by  our  ancestors  on  that  day ! 

After  my  admission  to  the  bar,  I  became  very  intimate 
with  Judge  Gantt;  and  was  strongly  attached  to  him  for 
his  many  high  and  noble  traits  of  character,  notwith- 
standing his  eccentricities  and  vagaries.  He  was  as  kind- 
hearted  and  benevolent  a  gentleman  as  breathed  the 
breath  of  hfe.  He  was  a  pure,  incorruptible  man,  and 
as  pleasant  a  companion  as  I  ever  met.  He  was  cordial 
and  social  in  his  nature.  I  frequently  rode  the  Western 
circuit  with  him,  in  his  carriage,  and  I  was  greatly 
amused  at  his  vagaries,  whims  and  strange  notions.  At 
one  time  he  would  drink  nothing  but  spice-wood  tea,  and 
carried  the  twigs  with  him  from  court  to  court.  At  an- 
other time  he  took  it  into  his  head  that  molasses  and 
water  was  the  only  liquid  that  man  should  drink.  He 
would  stop  at  a  spring  and  make  his  man,  Bob,  take  out 
his  molasses  bottle  and  mix  his  switchel  for  him.  In 
Columbia,  during  the  sitting  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  he 
rented  a  little  office  near  the  Court-House  and  made  his 
watchman  cook  his  meals.  He  brought  his  provisions, 
even  his  sugar  and  coffee,  from  home.  He  was  terribly 
afraid  of  fires  whilst  in  Charleston,  and,  on  one  occasion, 
chartered  a  vessel  to  sleep  in  during  his  stay  in  town, 
sitting  in  the  Court  of  Appeals. 


232  Richard  Gantt. 

Judj^e  Gantt  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  read  law 
with  William  Pinkuey.  He  has  frequently  told  me  that 
he  was  very  much  like  this  great  lawyer,  orator,  and 
statesman  in  his  person  and  features.  Judge  Gantt 
pridal  himself  on  his  knowledge  of  common  law,  derived 
from  old  Coke  whilst  reading  in  Pinkney's  office.  He 
said  Judges  Mott  and  Johnson,  who  were  on  the  Appeal 
bench  at  that  time,  and  two  of  the  most  learned  judges 
in  the  State,  knew  very  little  of  the  common  law,  except 
what  they  had  picked  up  from  him,  whilst  he  presided 
with  them  as  an  associate  judge  in  the  Court  of  Appeals. 
Judge  Gantt  mth  all  his  Idndness  of  heart,  could  say 
many  bitter  things,  and  delighted  in  making  sarcastic 
remarks  on  his  associates  and  acquaintances.  He  did 
this  with  no  bad  motive,  but  from  a  humorous  disposi- 
tion. 

He  told  me  that  before  leaving  Maryland  he  was  des- 
perately enamored  with  a  beautiful  and  lovely  lady.  He 
moved  to  South  Carolina  and  got  married,  had  been 
fortunate  in  his  profession  and  was  elected  a  judge.  He 
thought,  after  an  absence  of  many  years,  he  would  revisit 
old  Maryland  and  see  all  of  his  friends  and  family,  who 
still  lived  there.  He  did  so,  and  thought  he  would  go 
and  see,  amongst  others,  this  old  flame  of  his,  who  was 
married  and  settled  in  the  country.  He  still  had  the 
most  vivid  remembrance  of  her  youth,  beauty,  and  love- 
liness. Her  picture  was  still  in  his  mind  and  heart,  just 
as  he  had  last  seen  her.  The  wear  and  tear  of  time  had 
made  no  change  in  that!  He  called  and  sent  up  his 
name.  In  a  few  minutes  he  saw  a  little  old  woman  with 
a  cap  on ;  several  teeth  out  in  front ;  a  pale  and  wrinkled 
fiice,  coming  down  the  stair-case,  who  rushed  toward  him 
and  said  :  "  How  do  you  do,  Mr,  Gantt  ?  I  am  so  glad 
to  see  you  once  more."  The  charm  was  broken  !  The 
spell  was  gone,  and  he  left  the  house  in  ten  minutes. 

When  the  separate  appeal  court  was  first  established  in 
South  Carolina,  it  consisted  of  three  Judges,  Mott,  John- 
son and  Colcock.     They  reversed  a  good  many  of  the 


Richard  Gantt.  233 

judge's  circuit  decisions,  and  he  was  indignant  at  their 
audacity.  He  said  that  Mott  would  always  try  to  wipe 
out  liis  tracks  when  he  came  to  any  legal  difficulty,  that 
Johnson  would  cut  away,  like  a  fellow  with  a  broad-axe, 
to  try  and  remove  it,  but  that  Colcock  would  run  up 
against  the  difficulty  without  seeing  it. 

In  the  latter  part  of  Judge  Gantt's  life,  his  eccentricities 
and  oddities  became  grievous  to  the  bar,  and  resolutions 
Avere  introduced  in  the  Legislatiu-e  to  remove  him  from 
the  bench,  when  he  resigned  by  the  advice  of  his  friends. 
He  carried  into  his  retirement  the  respect  and  affectionate 
regard  of  all  who  knew  him.  In  the  resolutions  of  the 
bar  on  his  resignation,  drawn  by  Judge  Wardlaw,  he  is 
compared  to  that  most  eminent  and  pious  of  all  the  Eng- 
lish Judges,  Sir  Matthew  Hale. 

He  used  to  tell  a  great  many  anecdotes  of  himself 
whilst  at  the  bar,  and  on  the  bench.  He  said  that  he 
was  once  employed  by  an  old  Dutchman,  who  chajffered 
about  the  fee.  He  asked  fifty  dollars  and  the  old  man 
proposed  twenty.  The  Judge  told  him  he  would  accept 
his  fee  and  give  him  an  argument  accordingly.  He 
commenced  his  speech  and  pleased  his  client  very  much, 
but  he  stopped  short  and  told  him  his  fee  was  exhausted. 
The  old  Dutchman  handed  him  twenty  dollars  more  and 
lie  went  bravely  on  with  his  argument  for  some  time 
longer,  when  he  put  his  hands  behind  him  and  opened 
them  for  another  douceur.  The  Dutchman  took  the 
hint  and  put  ten  silver  dollars  into  his  hands,  and  he 
concluded  his  argument.  On  the  bench  he  was  trying 
an  old  miser  for  compromising  a  felony.  He  had  had 
a  cow  stolen,  and  dropped  the  prosecution  for  a  large  sum 
of  money,  paid  by  the  defendant.  The  old  miser  refused 
to  employ  counsel  to  defend  him  and  said,  he  "would 
rely  on  the  judge  for  justice  and  mercy."  The  judge 
sentenced  him  to  pay  a  fine  of  a  thousand  dollars,  and  be 
imprisoned  twelve  months.  This  opened  the  eyes  of  the 
old  miser  to  the  propriety  of  having  counsel  to  represent 
him,  and  he  immediately  employed  Judge  jNIartin,  then 


234  Richard  Gantt, 

of  the  bar,  to  intercede  for  liini,  and  paid  him  a  fee  of 
live  hundred  dollars ! 

In  Basil  Hall's  book  of  travels  through  the  United 
States,  he  mentions  an  interview  which  he  witnessed  in 
Columbia,  South  Carolina,  between  two  brothers,  illus- 
trative of  the  disposition  of  the  Americans  to  move  from 
one  State  to  another  which  Avas  just  being  settled.  Judge 
Gantt  told  me  that  the  scene  did  occur  between  him  and 
his  brother,  pretty  much  as  described  by  Hall.  He  was 
starting  from  Columbia  one  morning,  for  his  home,  in 
Greenville,  and  met  a  cavalcade  of  a  gentleman  moving. 
He  inquired  of  one  of  the  servants  where  they  were  from, 
and  was  told  Maryland.  This  induced  him  to  inquire 
the  name  of  his  master,  and  he  found  that  he  was  his 
brother  whom  he  had  not  seen  or  heard  from  for  years.  He 
immediately  turned  back  and  went  with  his  brother  and  fam- 
ily into  the  town  of  Columbia,  and  stopped  at  the  hotel 
where  this  conversation  occurred.  He  asked  his  brother 
if  he  had  ever  been  in  Florida,  where  he  was  moving  to. 
The  brother  informed  him  that  he  was  moving  there 
wdthout  ever  having  seen  the  country !  "  How  do  you 
know  that  you  will  like  the  country  ?  "  said  the  judge. 
The  brother  replied  that  if  he  did  not,  he  would  go  on  to 
Louisiana.  "  Why  did  you  move  at  all  ? "  said  the 
judge.  "  You  have  been  comfortably  situated  in  Mary- 
land, and  say  that  you  have  been  prosperous  in  life  and 
done  well."  "  That  is  all  very  true,"  said  the  brother : 
"but  I  wish  to  do  better." 

Another  anecdote  or  two  of  the  judge,  and  I  will  con- 
clude. It  illustrates  the  deep  interest  he  always  took  on 
the  side  of  mercy.  At  Union  Court-house,  in  a  trial  of 
a  criminal  case,  he  called  upon  Colonel  Herndon,  one 
of  the  defendant's  counsel,  and  said  to  him :  "  Let  your 
partner  expatiate  on  the  facts  of  the  case,  you  lay  down 
the  law,  and  I  will  reply  to  the  solicitor."  It  is  said  that 
the  judge  was  once  trying  to  purchase  a  horse  of  a  gen- 
tleman, who  was  immediately  afterwards  sworn  as  a  wit- 
ness in  a  case  in  court.      The  judge  said  to  him  :  "  Now 


KiCHARD  Gantt.  235 

you  are  under  oath,  tell  me  what  you  think  that  horse  is 
really  worth."  The  gentleman  adhered  to  his  price,  and 
the  judge  closed  the  trade!  The  Hon.  Warren  E,.  Da\a8 
said  that  he  was  once  arguing  a  case  of  great  importance, 
in  the  old  Constitutional  Court  of  Appeals,  composed  of 
all  the  circuit  judges,  and  he  noticed  that  he  had  attracted 
the  particular  attention  of  Judge  Gantt,  who  seemed  to 
be  Hstening  with  profound  attention  to  the  thread  of  his 
argument.  He  thought  it  was  an  indication  that  the 
judge  was  "s\-ith  him  in  the  view  he  took  of  the  case.  He 
was  confident  that  his  argument  had  riveted  the  attention 
of  his  honor  for  some  time,  and  he  felt  gratified.  When 
he  concluded,  the  judge  called  him  up,  he  supposed  to 
compliment  his  eflFort.  But  instead  of  doing  so,  he  said 
to  him,  "  Where  did  you  get  that  waistcoat  ?  I  was  ad- 
miring the  cut  of  it  all  the  time  you  were  speaking." 


WADDY  THOMPSON,  SR. 

In  my  "  RemiDiscences  of  Greenville,"  I  very  briefly 
mentioned  Chancellor  Thompson,  as  a  prominent  citizen 
of  the  district.  Since  writing  those  reminiscences,  I  have 
given  more  extended  sketches  of  the  chancellor's  con- 
temporaries on  the  bench  and  at  the  bar,  and  I  feel  that 
it  is  due  his  character  and  position  that  I  should  men- 
tion him  also  in  my  "Reminiscences  of  Public  Men."  I 
have  a  very  pleasant  and  agreeable  recollection  of  him. 
He  was  kind  and  cordial  to  me  in  my  early  life,  and  I 
had  a  sincere  regard  for  him. 

When  I  came  to  Greenville  to  read  law.  Chancellor 
Thompson  was  living  on  Grove  Creek,  ten  or  fifteen 
miles  below  Greenville  C.  H.  I  remember  paying  sev- 
eral very  pleasant  visits  at  his  house,  whilst  a  student  of 
law.  He  lived  plainly  in  the  country,  but  entertained  his 
friends  and  visitors  with  great  hospitality.  About  the 
time  of  my  admission  to  the  bar,  he  moved  into  the  vil- 
lage, and  lived  in  more  style.  I  then  saw  him  almost 
daily  up  to  the  period  of  his  death.  He  always  seemed 
pleased  with  the  visits  of  his  young  friends.  He  re- 
marked to  me  the  night  of  his  daughter's  marriage  to 
Robert  Means,  Esq.,  of  Fairfield :  "  I  suppose,  now  that 
Caroline  is  married,  I  shall  see  very  little  of  my  young 
friends."  She  was  a  very  handsome  and  intellectual 
young  lady,  and  well  calculated  to  attract  company  to  the 
chancellor's.  For  a  number  of  years  she  was  the  reign- 
ing belle  of  the  district,  and  greatly  admired  by  all  who 
knew  her.  The  chancellor  brought  up  and  educated, 
with  great  care,  five  sons  and  six  daughters.     He  was 


Waddy  Thompson,  Sr.  237 

not  a  man  of  large  fortune,  but  lived   generously  and 
spent  his  money  freely. 

Chancellor  Thompson  was  a  native  of  Virginia.     He 
moved  to  Georgia  whilst  a  very  young  man,  and  there 
married  the   daughter   of  Colonel  Williams,  a   revolu- 
tionary officer.     He  then  settled  at  old  Pickensville,  the 
seat  of  justice  for  Pendleton  and  Greenville  counties,  and 
commenced  the  practice  of  law.     He  was  very  successful 
at  the  bar,  and  engaged,  on   one  side   or  the   other,  of 
almost  every  case  in  court.     He  was  elected  to  the  Leg- 
islature from  Pendleton,  and  whilst   a  member  of  the 
Legislature,  was  elected  solicitor  of  the  western  circuit. 
This  office  he  held  until  1805,  when  he  was  elected  one 
of  the  chancellors  of  the  State.     This  high  judicial  posi- 
tion he  filled  with  ability  for  twenty-five  or  six  years. 
Finally  the  Legislature  started  a  temperance  movement 
in  regard  to  the  judiciary,  and  after  victimizing  Judge 
James,  they  moved  against  Chancellor  Thompson,  when 
he  resigned  his  seat  on  the  bench.     I  was  in  Columbia 
when  this   movement  was  made,  and  under  the  impor- 
tunate entreaties  of  his  son.  General  Waddy  Thompson, 
the  chancellor  yielded  to  the  advice  of  his  friends.  When 
I  returned  home,  the  chancellor  met  me  at  the  hotel,  and 
inquired,  with  deep  feeling,  what  had  been  done  with  his 
resignation.     I  told  him  it  had  been  accepted,  and  pro- 
ceedings against  him  discontinued.     He  replied  that  he 
regretted  very  much  having  resigned  his  office,  and  that 
he  would  give  his  whole  fortune  to  have  it  recalled.     I 
said  to  him,  very  frankly,  that  he  had  pursued  the  wisest 
course  in  yielding  to  the  storm  that  was  setting  in  against 
him ;  and  that  if  he  had  attempted  to  breast  it,  he  would 
have  gone  overboard,  as  Judge  James  did.     This  seemed, 
in  some  measure,  to  reconcile  him  to  the  course  he  had 
been  prevailed  on  to  pursue. 

Chancellor  Thompson  was  a  noble  looking  gentleman, 
distinguished  in  his  appearance,  tall  and  well  propor- 
tioned, with  an  uncommonly  fine  head  and  face.  When 
a  young  man,  he  was  regarded  as  handsome,  and  a  per- 


238  Waddy  Thompson,  Sr. 

feet  athlete  in  all  manly  exercises.  His  wife  was  as  fine 
lookinji;  a  matron  as  I  ever  saw,  and,  in  her  youth,  dis- 
tinguished for  lier  beauty.  Dr.  Crittenden  told  me  that 
in  passing  through  Georgia,  he  met  a  venerable  old  gen- 
tleman, who  said  he  had  the  honor  of  having  married 
Chancellor  Thompson  and  his  wife,  and  that  they  wer6 
the  finest  looking  and  handsomest  couple  he  had  ever 
seen  in  all  his  life.  I  have  heard  the  chancellor  speak 
of  his  courtship.  He  said  there  was  an  accomplished 
young  gentleman  paying  his  addresses  to  Miss  Williams 
at  the  same  time  he  was.  This  gentleman  had  the  good 
wishes  of  the  parents  of  the  young  lady  for  his  success. 
He  was  a  great  lover  of  music,  and  came  occasionally  to 
serenade  Miss  Williams.  "But,"  said  the  chancellor, 
"  she  preferred  the  music  of  my  tongue  to  his  flute  and 
violin." 

The  fashionable  sports  of  those  days  were  ball  playing, 
pitching  quoits,  hunting,  riding  races,  jumping,  running 
foot  races,  etc.  In  all  these  Chancellor  Thompson  is 
said  to  have  excelled,  in  his  younger  days.  He  was  also 
fond  of  playing  cards,  but  the  rumor  was  that  he  did  not 
excel  in  this  kind  of  sport,  and  that  Colonel  William 
Toney  won  from  him  the  greater  part  of  the  purchase- 
money  of  a  valuable  tract  of  land  (now  owned  by  Col. 
Irvine),  sold  by  the  chancellor  to  Toney. 

Chancellor  Thompson  was  a  man  of  great  sociability 
of  nature,  and  fond  of  boon  companionship.  He  possessed 
great  wit  and  humor,  and  could  utter  some  of  the  most 
withering  sarcasms  that  ever  fell  from  the  lips  of  man. 
I  thought  him  sometimes  cruel  and  torturing.  He  was 
smutty,  too,  in  his  cuts  and  thrusts.  I  once  witnessed  a 
rencontre  between  him  and  Col.  Benjamin  Hagood  in 
wit,  humor  and  vulgarity.  The  colonel  was  regarded  as  in- 
vincible in  this  line,  but  he  soon  succumbed  to  the  chan- 
cellor, and  left  the  field  cruelly  tortured.  The  chancellor 
was  walking  the  streets  of  Charleston  with  one  of  his 
brother  chancellors,  when  they  met  a  third,  who  extended 
both  hands  at  the  same  time,  and  said,  "  I  thank  God  I 


Waddy  Thompson,  Sr.  239 

have  a  hand  for  both  of  you.     "  And  a  heart  for  neither," 
was  tlie  response  of  Chancellor  Thompson. 

I  have  always  thought  and  said,  that  if  Chancellor 
Thompson  had  cultivated  properly  his  talents,  he  might 
have  been  one  of  the  great  men  of  America.  But  his 
mind  was  like  a  rich  forest  covered  over  with  briers  and 
brambles,  instead  of  producing  flowers  and  fruits.  T 
once  heard  a  gentleman  say,  speaking  of  a  mutual  friend 
of  ours,  that  it  was  a  great  shame  such  a  fellow  should 
possess  genius  and  talents  of  a  high  order.  I  replied, 
no,  the  shame  consists  in  not  improving  his  talents  and 
cultivating  his  genius. 

In  looking  over  our  equity  reports,  I  find  the  decrees 
and  judicial  opinions  of  Chancellor  Thompson  very 
brief,  and  simply  deciding  the  points  involved  in  the 
cases.  He  elaborated  nothing,  and  took  no  pains  to 
bolster  uj)  his  opinions  with  fine-spun  reasoning,  or  a 
display  of  authorities.  In  this  respect  there  is  a  marked 
difference  between  him  and  the  chancellors  who  succeded 
him.  His  decision  of  the  case  he  was  hearing,  was  gen- 
erally made  up  before  he  got  half  through  the  case.  An 
amusing  incident  is  told  of  him  at  Spartanburg.  The 
lawj'Crs  on  one  side  had  argued  the  case,  and  the  leading 
counsel  on  the  other  side  was  to  be  heard  in  the  morning 
of  the  next  day.  That  night  Chancellor  Thompson 
wrote  out  his  decree,  deciding  the  case  against  the  lawyer 
who  was  to  conclude  the  argument  the  next  morning. 
He  heard  the  argument  very  patiently,  and  as  soon  as  it 
was  closed,  he  pulled  out  the  decree  and  read  it  in  court ! 
The  la^v}"er  was  amazed !  He  saw  the  case  had  been  de- 
cided before  his  argument  and  authorities  were  heard  by 
the  chancellor.  But  no  one  ever  doubted  the  integrity 
and  impartiality  of  Chancellor  Thompson  on  the  bench. 

After  he  resigned  his  judgeship,  the  chancellor  an- 
nounced himself  as  a  Union  candidate  for  Congress,  in 
opposition  to  the  Hon.  Warren  R.  Davis,  who  was  a 
nullifier  and  disunionist.  But  before  the  election  came 
on,  he  declined  being  a  candidate,  and  Col.  Joseph  Gris- 


240  Waddy   TiioMPsox,  Sr. 

ham  was  noniinatal  by  the  Union  party  in  liis  stead. 
Chancellor  Thompson  lived  a  great  many  years  after  he 
retired  from  the  bench,  and  rode  to  the  village  almost 
every  day  to  see  and  chat  with  his  friends.  He  was  a 
warm-hearted  friend  and  a  bitter  enemy.  But  in  his 
witticisms,  humor  and  sarcasms,  he  spared  neither  friend 
nor  foe.  I  practiced  before  him  only  one  or  two  couiis 
before  he  resigned,  and  had  no  cause  to  complain  of  him. 
He  dispatched  business  very  rapidly,  and  I  thought  cor- 
rectly. 

The  chancellor  could  say  the  most  spiteful  things,  in 
perfect  good  humor,  and  really  felt  no  malice  at  the  time 
in  saying  them.  On  one  occasion,  he  and  Col.  Lemuel 
J.  Alston,  a  vain,  pompous  man,  who  owned  the  village 
of  Greenville,  and  was  a  member  of  Congress,  and  Col. 
Elias  Earle  and  Mr.  Samuel  Earle,  who  had  likewise 
been  in  Congress,  were  enjoying  themselves  socially,  -s^'heu 
Alston  said  to  the  chancellor  :  "  There  will  be  great  ri- 
valry hereafter  between  the  sons  of  Col.  Elias  Earle  and 
Mr.  Samuel  Earle,  for  your  daughters."  They  had  a 
great  many  sons,  and  the  chancellor  cpiite  a  number  of 
daughters.  Chancellor  Thompson  replied,  laconically  : 
"  I  don't  like  the  breed."  .  Mr.  Samuel  Earle  responded, 
"You  like  it,  sir,  better  than  I  do  yours."  This  broke 
up  the  sociability  of  the  evening.  But  in  after  life,  their 
blood  did  mingle,  as  Alston  predicted.  The  oldest  son 
of  Col.  Elias  Earle  married  a  daughter  of  the  chancellor's, 
and  a  younger  son  of  Mr.  Samuel  Earle  married  a  grand- 
daughter of  Chancellor  Thompson.  But  there  never  was 
any  kind  feeling  on  the  part  of  Chancellor  Thompson 
towards  either  Col.  Elias  Earle  or  Mr.  Samuel  Earle, 
and  I  know  this  feeling  was  reciprocated  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Samuel  Earle. 

I  forgot  to  mention  that  when  the  appeal  courts  in 
equity  and  law  were  blended,  and  the  judiciary  of  South 
Carolina  re-organized,  DeSaussure  and  Thompson  were 
elected  chancellors ;  before  they  were  called  equity 
judges. 


LANGDON  CHEVES. 

Judge  Cheves  was,  intellectually,  one  of  the  greatest 
men  America  has  ever  produced,  and  a  purer  statesman 
never  lived.  He  was  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Calhoun  in 
Congress  during  the  war  with  Great  Britain  in  1812. 
He  was  at  one  time  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States,  and  afterwards  President 
of  the  United  States  Bank.  The  judge  was  a  good 
looking,  stout  old  gentleman  when  I  had  the  pleasure  ot 
first  seeing  him,  after  his  return  from  Philadelphia  to 
South  Carolina  in  1829.  He  had  a  very  fine,  large 
head,  said  to  have  the  largest  head  of  any  public  man  in 
America.  His  forehead  was  broad  and  his  face  full, 
indicative  of  one  who  was  a  good  liver.  There  was  a 
marked  contrast  between  his  appearance  and  that  of  Mr. 
Calhoun.  The  latter  was  tall  and  slender,  and  had  a 
high  narrow  forehead,  with  an  uncommonly  long  head. 
His  face  was  pale  and  thin,  showing  an  abstemious  man, 
whilst  Judge  Cheves'  face  was  as  red  as  the  setting  sun. 
Mr.  Calhoun's  eyes  were  brilliant  and  dazzling,  stamped 
with  genius,  whilst  those  of  Judge  Cheves  were  sedate 
and  thoughtful.  I  was  strongly  impressed  with  his 
great  talents,  ability,  frankness  and  impartiality  when  I 
met  him  in  1831.  Sitting  at  the  supper  table  one 
evening,  General  Thompson,  who  was  then  bitterly 
opposed  to  Henry  Clay,  remarked  that  Clay  was  a 
vindictive  man,  and  rarely  spoke  well  of  his  opponents. 
Judge  Cheves  replied  that  he  boarded  with  Clay  several 
months,  and  never  heard  him  say  a  harmful  word  of  any 
one,  and  that  he  thought  him  remarkably  circumspect 
and  generous  in  that  respect.     General  Thompson  re- 


242  Langdon  Cheves. 

marked  that  Clay  had  no  doubt  changed  a  good  deal  in 
his  feelings  and  character  since  the  judge  knew  him ; 
that  he  was  cowed  and  embittered  against  the  world  in 
consequence  of  the  abuse  Avhich  had  been  deservedly 
heaped  upon  him.  "  No  sir/'  said  Judge  Cheves,  with 
some  feeling,  I  thought;  "give  the  devil  his  due. 
Clay  deserves  no  kindness  from  a  Southern  man ;  but  he 
is  not  a  dejected  man,  nor  does  he  feel  himself  disgraced 
by  anything  that  has  happened."  This  was  in  allusion 
to  the  coalition  between  Clay  and  Adams. 

Judge  Cheves  was  a  great  student  and  most  laborious 
man  whilst  at  the  bar.  No  lawyer  at  the  South  Carolina 
bar  ever  had  such  a  practice  before  or  since.  I  heard  him 
once  say  that  it  yielded  him  twenty  thousand  dollars  per 
annum.  He  said  he  began  to  throw  off  his  business 
long  before  he  was  elected  to  Congress.  Then  he  trans- 
ferred the  whole  of  it  to  General  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  who 
had  read  law  with  him,  and  had  just  been  admitted  to 
the  bar. 

Judge  Huger,  who  was  a  great  admirer  of  Judge 
Cheves  and  strongly  attached  to  him  as  a  friend,  told 
me  in  1828  that  his  (Cheves')  father  was  a  noted  Scotch 
Tory  and  Indian  trader  in  Abbeville  District,  South 
Carolina,  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  moved 
from  Abbeville,  where  Judge  Cheves  was  born,  to 
Charleston,  afler  the  capture  of  that  city  by  the  British. 
He  kept  a  store  on  Sullivan's  Island,  and  afterwards  in 
Elliott  street.  The  judge  was  a  lad  in  his  father's  store, 
with  very  little  education,  and  passing  the  Court  House 
one  day  he  was  attracted  by  the  clear,  stentorian  voice 
of  Chancellor  Marshall,  who  was  arguing  a  case  in 
court.  He  stopped  and  listened  to  the  speech,  and  de- 
termined to  become  a  lawyer  himself.  The  next  day  he 
went  to  Marshall's  office,  told  him  who  he  was,  and 
asked  permission  to  read  law  with  him.  For  many 
years  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  his  practice  was  very 
limited.  He  had  too  much  honesty,  said  Judge  Huger, 
to  manage  a  bad  case ;  and  the  expression  was  a  common 


Langdon  Cheves.  243 

one  in  Charleston,  "  If  you  have  a  good  case  employ 
Cheves,  but  if  you  have  a  bad  one  go  to  Drayton."  No 
one  must  infer  from  this,  however,  that  Colonel  Drayton 
was  not  a  gentleman  of  the  highest  honor  and  purest 
integrity.     In  this  respect  he  had  no  superior  anywhere. 

At  the  time  I  had  this  conversation  with  Judge 
Huger,  Judge  Cheves  Avas  residing  in  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  had  moved  after  his  election  to  the  Presidency 
of  the  United  States  Bank.  Judge  Huger  then  ex- 
pressed the  wish  that  Cheves  might  yet  be  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  "  What  a  beautiful  illustra- 
tion it  would  be,"  said  Judge  Huger,  "of  the  theory  of 
our  government,  to  see  such  a  man,  rising  from  poverty 
and  obscurity,  without  education  or  the  patronage  and  in- 
fluence of  family  or  friends,  to  the  highest  office  within 
the  gifl  of  the  people  by  his  great  talents,  high  and  noble 
qualities,  and  persevering  industry  and  energy."  Judge 
Huger  spoke  of  Cheves  as  the  most  self-willed  man  he 
ever  knew.  He  relied  on  the  judgment  of  no  one,  and 
was  influenced  by  no  one's  opinions  where  they  were 
contrary  to  his  own.  But  notwithstanding  this  firmness, 
self-will  and  self-reliance,  he  was  as  sensitive  as  a  woman 
to  the  criticisms  of  the  world.  He  was  terribly  annoyed 
whilst  president  of  the  bank  by  the  complaints  and 
charges  made  against  him.  He  determined  to  pay  no 
dividends  to  the  stockholders  till  the  finances  of  the 
bank  were  in  a  better  condition.  There  were  hundreds 
dependent  on  their  dividends  for  their  support.  The 
clamor  against  him  became  furious,  but  he  knew  the 
salvation  of  the  bank  depended  upon  the  course  he  was 
pursuing ;  and  whilst  he  felt  deeply  the  censure  of  the 
people  and  the  press,  he  could  not  be  driven  from  his 
purpose. 

Whilst  Judge  Cheves  had  all  the  sensitiveness  to  abuse 
and  detraction,  he  had  none  of  that  false  shame  which 
we  too  often  meet  Avith  in  life.  As  evidence  of  this, 
Judge  Butler  told  me  he  once  heard  Judge  Cheves  speak, 
with  child-like    simplicity,  of  his  being  a  hired   day 


244  Langdon  Cheves. 

laborer  to  plow  whilst  a  boy.  For  many  years  after  his 
admission  to  the  bar,  he  was  very  diffident  about  writing 
anything  for  publication  in  consequence  of  his  defective 
education.  The  first  article  ever  written  by  him  for  the 
press  was  an  obituary  notice  of  the  Kev.  Mr.  Buist,  of 
Charleston,  which  has  been  recently  republished  on 
account  of  the  subject  and  the  writer.  Judge  Cheves 
wrote  remarkably  well.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  his 
style  was  glowing  and  rhapsodical.  His  speech  at  the 
Nashville  convention,  on  the  American  Union,  was  like 
a  translated  poem.  It  was  written  out  and  read  to  the 
convention.  Judge  Cheves  was  a  very  decided  dis- 
unionist,  but  utterly  opposed  to  nullification  and  seces- 
sion by  one  State.  He  had  too  much  wisdom,  good 
sense  and  practical  knowledge  of  the  world  to  adopt  any 
such  folly  as  that.  In  the  days  of  nullification,  dis- 
unionist  as  he  was,  he  acted  with  the  Union  party  in 
opposing  nullification.  In  the  days  of  secession  he  acted 
with  the  co-operation  party  in  South  Carolina,  and  spoke 
most  wisely  and  feelingly  of  the  hopeless  folly  of  sepa- 
rate State  action.  He  was  in  favor  of  a  Southern  con- 
vention to  determine  as  to  the  mode  and  measure  of  re- 
dress on  the  part  of  the  Southern  States. 

I  met  Judge  Cheves  at  Stewart's  hotel,  in  Charleston, 
in  1836,  when  he  took  occasion  to  speak  of  the  vassalage 
of  the  South  to  the  North,  and  the  great  prosperity  which 
would  flow  into  the  Southern  seaports  if  the  Federal 
Union  were  disserved.  After  finishing  his  lecture,  he 
picked  up  his  cloak,  and  throwing  it  around  him,  said, 
"  It  does  not  become  me,  however,  to  express  such  senti- 
ments to  you,"  and  left  the  room.  The  judge  was  well 
acquainted  with  my  ardent  love  and  devotion  to  the 
Union  at  that  time,  and  felt  assured  that  nothing  he  could 
say  would  change  my  well  settled  convictions  on  that 
subject.  The  same  evening  he  spoke  to  me  about  the 
changes  which  had  taken  place  in  Charleston  since  he 
was  a  lad  in  his  father's  store  in  Elliott  street.  In  an 
address  which  I  once  delivered  before  the  Erskine  Col- 


Langdon  Cheves.  245 

lege,  I  mentioued  the  great  men  given  to  the  country 
by  Abbeville  District.  I  named  four  —  Calhoun, 
Cheves,  McDuffie  and  Petigru — any  one  of  whom,  I 
said,  would  have  characterized  an  era  or  a  nation.  In 
return  for  a  copy  of  this  address,  Judge  Cheves  wrote 
me  a  kind  letter  and  thanked  me  for  my  kind  notice  of 
him. 

Like  Hugh  S.  Legare,  Judge  Cheves  is  said  to  have 
associated  with  very  few  persons  whilst  a  member  of  the 
South  Carolina  Legislature.  He  generally  walked  to 
the  State  House  alone,  and  returned  alone.  Whilst  in 
his  room  he  was  too  much  absorbed  with  business  to  see 
company.  In  Congress  he  and  Clay,  Calhoun,  Lowndes, 
and  Bibb,  of  Kentucky,  messed  together.  It  was  called 
the  "  war  mess."  What  a  bright  constellation  they  were 
of  American  genius,  eloquence  and  ability.  When  they 
heard  of  our  first  hard- won  victory  they  were  so  much 
elated,  said  Judge  Cheves,  that,  like  school  boys,  they 
sprang  up,  and  in  the  excess  of  their  joy  danced  a  four- 
handed  reel !  On  the  bench,  Judge  Cheves  was  dis- 
tinguished for  his  learning  and  ability,  and  it  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  he  resigned  his  seat  there  for  the  Presi- 
dency of  fhe  United  States  Bank.  His  great  intellec- 
tual endowments  would  have  added  lustre  to  the  South 
Carolina  judiciary,  and  rendered  the  decisions  of  the 
court  of  the  highest  authority  all  over  the  Union. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  became  self-indulgent 
and  inert.  He  seemed  to  Avithdraw  from  society  and  the 
world.  His  noble  intellect  became  impaired  by  age.  In 
conclusion,  I  will  say  that  South  Carolina  never  pro- 
duced an  abler,  purer,  or  more  unostentatious  son. 


JOEL  R.  POINSETT. 

I  was  oil  terms  of  great  iiitimacy  with  Mr.  Poinsett  in 
the  latter  part  of  his  life.  He  resided  in  Greenville  for 
several  years  just  before  his  death,  and  I  Mas  a  frequent 
visitor  at  his  house.  These  visits  were  always  pleasant 
and  instructive.  No  one  could  associate  with  Mr.  Poin- 
sett without  a(!quiring  much  valuable  information.  He 
had  traveled  all  over  the  civilized  world,  and  had  seen 
all  the  great  men  of  Europe  and  America.  He  was  a 
very  observing  man,  and  treasured  up  all  he  had  seen 
and  heard.  He  was  a  M'ise  and  practical  nion,  far-seeing 
and  sagacious.  His  health  was  always  delicate,  and  it  is 
amazing  that  one  with  so  fragile  a  constitution  could 
have  undergone  the  labor  and  endured  the  fatigue  in  his 
travels  and  occuj^ations  through  life.  Whilst  Mr.  Poin- 
sett was  a  member  of  Mr.Yan  Bureu's  cabinet,  he  resided 
altogether  in  Washington,  and  never  came  to  his  moun- 
tain home  in  Greenville.  I  saw  nothing  of  him  during 
that  period.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  beaten  by 
General  Harrison,  Mr.  Poinsett  returned  to  Greenville 
and  continued  to  make  it  his  summer  residence  till  his 
death.  He  was  fond  of  society,  and  had  his  friends  with 
him  constantly.  His  house,  and  his  grounds  around, 
showed  what  good  taste  can  do  in  the  uay  of  improve- 
ments, with  little  expense.  I  made  the  purchase  for  him 
without  his  ever  having  seen  the  place.  The  buildings 
and  improvements  were  all  rude  and  unfinished.  His 
fortune  had  gone,  and  his  means  were  limited.  But 
with  a  few  hundred  dollars  he  re-formed  the  house,  laid 
out  his  grounds,  planted  his  hedges,  grapery,  orchard, 
flowers,  etc.     The  appearance  of  everything  was  entirely 


Joel  R.   Poinsett.  247 

changed,  and  the  place  was  admired  by  all  who  saw  it 
for  its  beauty  and  tasteful  improvements. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Poinsett  commenced 
in  1830.  He  was  then  a  member  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, and  had  just  returned  from  Mexico,  where  he  had 
represented  the  Government  for  several  years  as  our  min- 
ister. He  had  previously  been  a  member  of  Congress ; 
had  written  a  work  on  Mexico,  where  he  had  been  years 
before,  in  his  travels  over  the  world.  During  the  nulli- 
fication excitement,  Mr.  Poinsett  was  the  leader  of  the 
Union  party  in  South  Carolina.  He  organized  it,  and 
planned  all  its  operations.  He  was  in  constant  corre- 
spondence with  General  Jackson,  and  suggested  the  re- 
pairs and  reinforcements  of  the  forts  around  Charleston. 
He  originated  the  Washington  societies  throughout  the 
State,  as  a  set-off  to  the  nullification  clubs.  But  this  or- 
ganization came  too  late  to  save  the  State.  The  political 
battle  had  been  fought,  and  the  victory  won  by  our  op- 
ponents.    Revolutions  never  take  a  backward  step. 

Mr.  Poinsett  was  of  French  descent.  He  told  me 
that  his  ancestor,  who  first  emigrated  to  South  Carolina, 
was  a  silversmith.  Mrs.  Poinsett,  who  was  of  a  very 
proud  aristocratic  family  in  the  State,  did  not  like  to  hear 
him  speak  of  his  artisan  grandfather. 

He  inherited  a  large  fortune,  and  spent  a  great  deal  of 
it  in  his  youth  in  traveling  over  Europe,  Asia  and  South 
America.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  our  Legislature 
from  Charleston  whilst  a  very  young  man.  His  book 
on  Mexico  was  written  in  early  life,  and  is  a  work  of 
great  interest.  It  was  republished  in  England,  and  had 
a  wide  circulation. 

When  he  first  arrived  in  Mexico,  as  American  Min- 
ister, he  told  me  that  the  British  Ambassador  very  kindly 
proposed  to  take  him  under  his  protection.  But,  said 
Mr.  Poinsett,  "  I  was  disposed  to  set  up  for  myself."  In 
a  short  time  he  superseded  the  English  Minister,  and  be- 
came all-powerful  with  the  Mexican  government.  His 
controlling  influence  with  the  President  of  the  Republic 


248  Joel  R.   Poinsett. 

was  so  2:reat  that  it  caused  dissatisfaction,  not  only  with 
the  foreign  ministers,  but  with  the  people  of  Mexico,  and 
the  President  was  forced  to  ask  his  recall  of  the  United 
States  government.  Mr.  Poinsett  told  me  that  he  said 
to  the  President  of  Mexico,  when  he  informed  him  that 
he  had  been  compelled  to  ask  his  recall,  that  he  had 
signed  his  death  warrant,  and  would  be  executed  in  a 
short  time  after  he  left  the  country.  This,  unfortunately, 
proved  true.  The  President  was  killed  in  a  few  months 
after  Mr.  Poinsett  quit  Mexico. 

Whilst  traveling  in  Russia,  Mr.  Poinsett  had  frequent 
interviews  with  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and  long  con- 
versations with  him  on  the  nature  and  character  of  the 
American  Republic.  In  one  of  these  conversations 
Alexander  said  to  him:  "If  I  were  not  Emperor  of 
Russia,  I  would  like  to  be  a  citizen  of  your  republic." 

In  Turkey,  Mr.  Poinsett  told  me  that  he  once  saw  a 
remarkable  cargo  of  merchandise  on  its  Avay  to  market  in 
Constantinople.  Nothing  more  nor  less  than  wagons 
freighted  with  young  ladies  from  Georgia  and  Circassia ! 
They  were  partially  concealed  by  lattice  worked  frames 
covering  the  wagons.  He  could  see,  however,  their 
bright  eyes  peering  through  the  lattice  work.  In  Flor- 
ence he  met  Tallien,  who  brouglit  Robespierre  to  the 
guillotine.  ]\Ir.  Poinsett  complimented  him  on  his  bold- 
ness and  great  daring  in  denouncing  Robespierre  in  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  whilst  he  was  at  the  zenith  of  his 
power  and  bloody  rule  in  France.  Tallien  said  there 
was  no  boldness  in  it.  It  was  simply  an  act  of  despera- 
tion on  his  part.  He  knew  that  his  arrest  had  been  or- 
dered, and  that  he  would  be  executed  the  next  day.  He 
therefore  denounced  Robespierre  as  a  tyrant  in  order  to 
save  his  own  life. 

I  was  dining  with  Mr.  Poinsett  one  day  in  company 
with  General  Thompson.  No  one  else  was  at  the  table. 
Mrs.  Poinsett  had  retired.  General  Thompson  stated 
that  John  Q.  Adams  told  him  that  when  he  was  elected 
President,  Mr.  Calhoun  and  the  South  Carolina  delega- 


Joel  R.  Poinsett.  249 

tion  in  Congress  sent  him  a  message  by  one  of  the  mem- 
bers, that  if  he  would  not  appoint  Henry  Clay  to  a  seat 
in  his  cabinet,  they  would  support  his  administration.  I 
noticed  that  Mr.  Poinsett's  countenance  changed,  and  he 
made  no  remark  about  it.  Shortly  afterwards,  Thompson 
left  the  table.  Whilst  he  was  absent,  Mr.  Poinsett  said 
to  me :  "  That  story  of  Thompson's  is  true."  On  our 
return  to  the  village,  Gen.  Thompson  asked  me  if  I  did 
not  observe  a  change  in  Poinsett's  countenance  when  he 
mentioned  what  Adams  had  told  him.  I  replied  that  I 
did,  and  that  after  he  left  the  room  Poinsett  remarked 
that  this  statement  of  Adams  was  true.  We  both  con- 
cluded that  Poinsett  himself  was  the  member  of  Congress 
who  carried  the  message  to  Adams.  The  reply  of  Adams 
was  that  the  great  West  was  entitled  to  be  represented  in 
his  cabinet,  and  he  knew  of  no  one  to  be  preferred  to 
Clay. 

Mr.  Poinsett  was  a  wise,  practical  man,  full  of  infor- 
mation on  all  subjects,  acquired  more  by  his  travels  and 
association  with  the  great  and  learned,  than  by  reading 
and  the  study  of  books.  He  was  a  great  tactician  and 
manager,  and  would  have  made  a  great  general.  He 
conversed  well,  wrote  well  and  spoke  well.  He  had 
great  taste  in  all  the  fine  arts,  and  had  the  faculty  of 
making  every  thing  about  him  look  pretty.  He  was  a 
great  admirer  of  flowers,  plants  and  shrubbery.  In  his 
manners  he  was  a  most  pleasant  and  agreeable  gentleman, 
simple,  unaffected  and  unpretending.  His  appearance 
was  not  striking  or  attractive.  He  delighted  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  all  the  im- 
provements of  his  farm.  He  lived  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  a  bachelor,  and  then  married  .Mrs.  Pringle,  whom 
he  had  addressed  before  her  first  marriage,  as  I  was  in- 
formed by  Judge  Huger.  They  were  a  most  happy 
couple.  She  had  been  a  widow  about  twenty  years  be- 
fore her  marriage  to  Mr.  Poinsett. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  became  a  communicant 
of  the  Episcopal  Church.     He  was  small  in  stature,  with 


260  Joel  R.   Poinsett. 

a  decidedly  French  face.  He  had  great  jiublic  spirit; 
favored  all  improvements  in  the  country,  and  did  all  he 
could  to  promote  them.  He  was  for  several  years  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Works  in  South  Carolina,  and  super- 
vised the  building  of  the  Saluda  turnpike  over  the 
mountains.  Mr.  Poinsett,  Col.  John  T.  Coleman  and 
myself  started  the  Greenville  and  Columbia  Railroad, 
and  with  the  aid  of  Gen.  Thompson  and  others  labored 
faithfully  for  its  success. 

Mr.  Poinsett's  administration  of  the  War  Department 
was  a  most  successful  one.  He  was  the  successor  of  Gen. 
Cass,  who  left,  as  Mr.  Poinsett  informed  me,  a  great 
many  cases  undecided  in  the  department  involving  grave 
questions  and  large  amounts  of  money.  They  were  all 
disposed  of  satisfactorily  in  a  few  months.  Mr.  Poinsett 
originated  the  flying  artillery,  which  produced  quite  a 
revolution  in  the  art  of  war,  and  for  which  the  country 
owes  him  a  debt  of  gratitude.  He  had  a  very  sugges- 
tive mind,  and  was  most  sagacious  and  far-seeing  in  all 
his  suggestions.  He  was  sincerely  devoted  to  the  Federal 
Union,  and  foretold  the  bloody  consequences  and  ulti- 
mate failure  of  secession — with  the  loss  of  slavery.  He 
said,  in  conversation  with  Mr.  Calhoun,  at  his  own  table 
in  Washington,  he  required  an  explanation  of  some  views 
which  Mr.  Calhoun  had  expressed,  who  said  to  him,  "  Do 
you  not  remember  that  Rawlins  Lowndes  requested  it  to 
be  engraved  on  his  tombstone,  that  he  was  opposed  to 
the  Federal  Union  ?  "  "  I  now  understand  you,"  said  Mr. 
Poinsett,  "  and  shall  oppose  you  to  the  death.'  They  never 
had  any  intercourse  afterwards. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Poinsett  was  a  serious  loss  to  the  so- 
ciety of  Greenville,  and  his  friends  all  over  the  State. 
His  health  had  been  feeble  all  his  life,  but  he  took  won- 
derful care  of  himself,  and  lived  to  a  good  old  age. 


HUGH  S.  LEGARE. 

This  profound  scholar,  brilliant  writer,  and  finished 
orator,  lawyer  and  statesman,  died  at  the  early  age  of 
forty-six,  whilst  he  was  attorney-general  of  the  United 
States,  and  acting  Secretary  of  State.  Had  he  lived  to  a 
ripe  old  age,  and  gone  on  increasing  in  learning  and 
scholarship  as  he  did  in  youth  and  manhood,  he  would 
have  lefl  no  superior  behind  him  in  England  or  America. 
Mr.  Legare  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  of  Scotch  and 
Huguenot  descent,  educated  at  the  South  Carolina  Col- 
lege, elected  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature  for  many 
years  in  succession,  then  attorney-general  of  the  State, 
and  appointed  by  President  Jackson,  Minister  to  Brus- 
sels. On  his  return  home,  after  an  absence  of  four  years, 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress  from  Charleston, 
and  greatly  distinguished  himself  as  an  eloquent  and 
brilliant  orator  during  his  brief  Congressional  career. 

I  first  saw  Hugh  Swinton  Legare  in  the  fall  of  1826. 
He  was  then  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  his  reputation  for  learning,  talents,  eloquence  and 
scholarship,  was  very  high  indeed.  In  fact,  he  brought 
his  reputation  with  him  when  he  entered  college  in  his 
fourteenth  year,  as  is  stated  by  Col.  William  C.  Preston, 
his  college  companion.  I  have  frequently  heard  it  said 
that  Legare  entered  college  with  more  learning  and  schol- 
arship than  McDuffie  had  when  he  left  college,  though 
the  one  was  a  boy  who  came  to  be  educated,  and  the 
other  was  a  man  grown,  who  had  finished  his  education, 
and  was  destined  to  rank  with  the  greatest  men  of 
America.  I  remember  hearing  Judge  Huger  say  that 
when  Legare  graduated,  he  went  to  the   commencement 


252  Hugh  S.  Legare. 

out  of  respect  to  the  college,  and  to  see  tlie  ladies.  Whilst 
chatting  with  some  of  them,  his  ear  was  attracted  by  a 
sentence  in  Legare's  valedictory.  •  He  became  interested, 
and  his  attention  was  riveted  on  the  oration  till  it  was 
ended.  He  inquired  who  this  young  man  was,  and 
asked  one  of  the  professors  who  wrote  his  valedictory  for 
him.  The  professor  replied  that  Legare  had  written  it 
himself,  and  that  he  was  the  only  man  in  the  whole  col- 
lege who  could  have  written  it.  The  subject  Avas,  "  The 
influence  of  the  imagination  upon  human  happiness." 

I  have  heard  Calhoun,  Webster,  McDutiie,  Hayne, 
Preston  and  many  others  of  the  distinguished  orators  of 
the  United  States,  but  in  my  estimation  Legare  was  a  far 
more  finished  orator  than  any  of  them.  He  had  a  fine, 
noble  voice,  and  seemed  to  have  the  same  command  over 
it  that  a  lady  has  over  the  keys  of  the  instrument  on 
which  she  is  playing.  It  is  said  that  the  multitude,  the 
great  masses  of  the  common  people,  are  better  judges  of 
eloquence  than  the  highly  educated  few.  An  old  friend 
of  mine.  Col.  Benajan  Dunham,  remarkable  for  his  good 
sense  and  judgment,  very  cool  and  dispassionate,  and  not 
easily  moved  by  anything,  once  heard  Legare  speak  in 
some  commercial  convention  in  Charleston.  The  old 
gentleman,  on  his  return  home,  said  he  had  not  only 
never  heard  anything  like  it,  but  it  had  surpassed  all  his 
conceptions  of  eloquence  and  public  speaking.  Judge 
Cheves,  on  his  return  to  South  Carolina,  after  his  resi- 
dence in  Philadelphia,  heard  Legare's  speech  on  the  judi- 
ciary system  of  South  Carolina  before  the  Legislature, 
and  pronounced  it  above  criticism.  In  listening  to  Le- 
gare you  not  only  had  your  feelings  roused  and  excited, 
as  the  highest  eloquence  never  fails  to  do,  but  at  the 
same  time,  you  saw  there  was  a  depth  of  thought  and  a 
beiuitiful  finish  in  every  expression,  which  struck  and 
charmed  your  judgment.  It  was  a  combination  of  the 
force  of  Demosthenes,  the  beauty  of  Cicero,  and  the  bril- 
liancy of  Burke. 


Hugh  S.  Legare.  253 

In  Congress,  Legare  made  a  speech  soon  after  taking 
his  seat,  on  the  sub-treasury,  which  was  equal  to  Ed- 
mund Burke's  greatest  efforts  in  the  British  Parliament. 
It  drew  forth  the  highest  praise  and  warmest  congratula- 
tions from  all  who  heard  it.  General  Thompson,  who 
was  in  Congress  at  the  same  time,  told  me  that  when  he 
went  up  to  Legare  to  congratulate  him  on  his  great  effort, 
he  burst  into  tears  and  said,  "  My  greatest  gratification 
will  be  in  knowing  that  my  success  will  please  my 
mother." 

As  a  scholar,  profoundly  learned  in  all  ancient  and 
modern  literature,  Hugh  S.  Legare  had  but  few  equals 
in  Europe  or  America.  The  Grecian  and  Roman  classics 
were  as  familiar  to  him  as  household  words.  He  spoke 
and  wrote  with  great  purity,  the  French,  Italian,  Span- 
ish, and  German  languages,  and  had  read  and  studied 
their  standard  works.  In  order  to  master  all  this  learn- 
ing and  knowledge,  he  studied  from  his  earliest  school 
days,  seventeen  hours  in  twenty-four.  He  spoke  French 
with  so  much  accuracy,  that  a  French  lady  said  to  him, 
that  he  was  too  Attic  to  be  an  Athenian,  alluding  to  the 
story  of  a  foreigner  who  professed  to  be  a  Grecian,  and 
was  detected  by  the  accuracy  with  which  he  spoke  the 
language.  He  had  acquired  his  knowledge  of  it  from 
books,  Avhich  was  more  perfect  than  if  the  language  had 
been  his  mother  tongue. 

The  contributions  of  Legare  to  the  Southern  Review 
and  New  York  Review  on  Grecian  and  Roman  literature, 
the  civil  law,  life  of  Byron,  and  various  other  subjects, 
are  not  surpassed  by  any  of  the  essays  of  Lord  ^IcCaulay. 
The  style  of  Washington  Irving  was  greatly  admired  in 
England  for  its  purity  and  classic  taste,  but  that  of  Le- 
gare was  more  perfect  and  classic,  with  greater  strength 
and  beauty. 

The  fame  of  Hugh  S.  Legare  as  an  orator  and  literary 
man  induced  the  multitude  to  suppose  that  he  could  not 
be  a  profound  lawyer,  and  consequently  his  practice,  for 
many  years,  in  Charleston,  was  very  limited.     But  after 


254  Hugh  S.  Legare. 

liis  election  as  attorney-general  of  the  State,  it  became 
known  that  he  was  a  great  lawyer,  as  well  as  a  great 
scholar,  orator  and  writer.  He  went  on  to  Washington 
to  attend  to  some  case  there  in  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
his  argument  showed  such  familiarity  W'ith  the  civil  law 
that  it  attracted  the  attention  of  Mr.  Livingston,  then 
Secretary  of  State,  who  procured  for  him  the  appoint- 
ment of  minister  to  Belgium,  Avhere  he  would  have  an 
opportunity  of  perfecting  his  study  of  the  civil  law. 
After  his  return  to  the  United  States,  and  his  appoint- 
ment as  attorney-general  under  the  administration  of 
President  Tyler,  he  distinguished  himself  in  the  argu- 
ment of  several  cases  in  the  Supreme  Court,  and  Mr. 
Justice  Story  pronounced  him  one  of  the  profoundest 
lawyers  who  had  ever  appeared  in  his  court. 

In  his  appearance,  Mr.  Legare  was  a  very  remarkable 
man.  His  bust  was  a  noble  one,  and  he  appeared  to  a 
great  advantage  seated  in  his  chair  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  but  when  he  rose  to  speak,  his  legs  were 
so  short  that  he  seemed  dwarfed.  It  is  said  when  a 
child,  his  limbs  were  well  proportioned,  but  some  disease 
afterwards  deformed  them.  His  head  and  face  were  very 
fine  and  striking.  But  in  walking  he  was  ungainly,  and 
I  noticed  that  he  seldom  walked  to  or  from  the  State 
House  in  company  with  any  one.  He  never  married. 
He  was  very  sensitive  and  morbid  on  the  subject  of  his 
personal  appearance.  I  have  understood  that  he  said  he 
would  give  all  his  learning  and  talents  for  the  manly  and 
graceful  form  of  Preston.  His  article  on  Lord  Byron, 
and  his  allusion  to  his  deformity,  and  his  lordship's  sen- 
sitiveness on  that  subject,  seemed  to  have  been  written 
with  great  feeling  and  sympathy. 

In  nis  manners  and  intercourse  with  the  world,  Legare 
was  austere  and  reticent.  He  had  none  of  the  arts  or 
feelings  of  the  demagogue  or  popular  man.  Hence  his 
popularity  and  official  honors  were  owing  entirely  to  his 
talents  and  attainments.  When  he  was  elected  attorney- 
general  of  South  Carolina,  he  was  in  a  minority,  a  Union 


Hugh  S.  Legare.  255 

man,  and  had  but  little  personal  popularity  in  the  Legis- 
lature. There  was  something  beautiful  and  touching  in 
his  devotion  through  life  to  his  noble  mother,  on  whom 
had  devolved  solely  his  education  and  rearing.  He 
thought  of  her  gratification  only  when  honors  and  praises 
were  clustering  around  him.  Such  a  son  must  have  had 
a  noble  and  loving  heart. 

j\Ir.  Legare  died  suddenly,  in  the  city  of  Boston,  and 
his  remains  were,  some  years  afterwards,  brought  to 
Charleston  by  his  friend  and  warm  admirer,  Richard 
Yeadon,  Esq.,  where  they  were  buried,  in  Magnolia  cem- 
etery, and  a  monument  erected  over  them  by  his  friends. 
Well  may  South  Carolina  be  proud  of  her  illustrious 
scholar  and  orator,  Hugh  Swinton  Legare.  His  essays 
and  diary  have  been  collected  by  his  sister,  and  published 
in  two  volumes,  with  a  short  biographical  sketch  by  E. 
W.  Johnston,  Esq. 


JAMES  L  PETIGRU. 

I  regarded  Mr.  Petigru,  whilst  living,  as  the  most 
learned  able,  and  accomplished  lawyer  in  the  United 
States,  and  he  was  so  regarded  by  many  others,  who  were 
more  capable  of  judging  of  his  attainments  than  myself. 
I  have  never  known  a  more  noble  hearted  gentleman,  a 
more  sincere  friend,  or  a  more  charming  companion ;  and 
this  is  the  estimate  of  all  who  knew  him.  As  a  statesman 
and  a  politician,  he  was  not  equal  to  many  others.  His 
great  talents  and  abilities  were  devoted,  almost  exclusively, 
to  his  profession.  He  was  a  Federalist  of  the  old  school, 
and  had  no  very  great  confidence  in  popular  or  republican 
institutions.  In  other  words,  he  did  not  believe  that  the 
masses  of  people  had  virtue  and  intelligence  enough  to 
govern  themselves  wisely  and  properly  for  any  length  of 
time.  Like  Washington  and  Hamilton,  he  doubted  the 
experiment  the  American  people  were  making  in  self- 
government,  and  Avas  afraid  it  would  not  be  permanent. 
But  like  them,  also,  he  would  have  been  willing  to  lay 
down  his  life  in  defence  of  the  effort  the  people  had  made 
to  administer  themselves  their  own  government. 

Mr.  Petigru  came  to  Greenville  in  the  summer  of 
1825,  whilst  I  was  reading  law,  and  was  frequently  in 
Judge  Earle's  office.  I  had  heard  of  him  as  a  lawyer  of 
great  distinction,  and  as  Attorney  General  of  the  State, 
which  office  he  then  filled,  and  was  greatly  amused  at  his 
peculiar  screeching  voice  and  witty  expressions.  I  saw 
nothing  more  of  Mr.  Petigru  till  I  met  him,  several 
years  afterwards,  in  the  Union  Convention,  at  Columbia. 
I  was  struck  by  a  speech  which  he  made  one  night,  in  our 
caucus,  on  the  love  of  country.  He  said  he  had  no  love  for 


James  L.  Petigrii.  257 

the  swamps  of  the  lower  country,  or  the  mountains  of  the 
upper  country. — "  Where  liberty  fh\ells,  there  is  my  coun- 
try I"  Mr.  Petigru  was  not  in  the  habit  of  attending  the  sit- 
tings of  the  Legislature  for  several  years  after  ray  admis- 
sion to  the  bar.  I  think  he  was  engaged  professionally 
before  the  Legislature  of  Georgia  about  that  time.  I  met 
him  in  the  Legislature  as  a  member  of  that  body  in  1836, 
and  we  were  thrown  very  much  together  in  our  business 
and  associations.  I  became  greatly  attached  to  him,  and 
our  relations  continued  of  the  most  cordial  nature  till  his 
death  in  1863. 

Mr.  Petigru  was  a  most  devoted  Union  man  through- 
out his  life.  He  never  wavered  or  hesitated  in  his  com-se, 
or  failed  to  express  his  opinions  boldly  and  fearlessly  ; 
and  yet  no  man  in  the  State  commanded  more  entirely 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  opposite  party.  The 
leading  Secessionists  and  IS^ullifiers  were  all  his  personal 
friends,  and  remained  so  till  his  death.  In  1851,  when 
I  started  the  Southern  Patriot,  amidst  the  terrible  excite- 
ment and  storm  of  secession,  which  had  swept  every 
Union  paper  out  of  existence  in  South  Carolina,  Mr. 
Petigru  wrote  me  a  most  beautiful  letter  stating  that  my 
prospectus  "  had  re\4ved  his  heart  for  the  republic. 
Until  he  saw  that,  he  had  despaired  of  the  Union."  He 
was  ever  one  of  the  faithful  few  amidst  the  faithless  in 
South  Carolina.  Like  myself,  he  had  always  respected 
those  of  the  secession  party  who  were  governed  by  prin- 
ciple, but  he  scorned  those  who  betrayefl  their  principles 
through  cowardice,  or  a  love  of  pojiularity  and  office. 
When  the  Union  was  broken,  either  of  us  would  have 
defended  the  State  as  readily  as  any  of  those  who  brought 
this  great  calamity  upon  the  country.  But  Mr.  Petigru 
through  his  long  life  avoided  taking  any  active  part  in 
politics.  His  great  intellect  and  noble  heart  were  devoted 
to  the  law  as  a  science  and  a  study,  and  it  is  as  a  lawyer 
that  he  will  be  known  to  fame.  His  code  of  the  statute 
laws  of  South  Carolina,  just  completed  at  his  death,  will 


268  James  L.  Petigru. 

be  a  noble  and  enduring  monument  of  his  wisdom  and 
ability. 

The  practice  of  Mr.  Petigru  was  always  profitable,  but 
his  speculations  and  generosity  ever  kept  him  poor.  On 
several  occasions  I  urged  him  to  consent  to  take  a  seat 
on  the  bench.  He  uniformly  replied  that  he  was  too 
poor  to  entertain  such  an  ambition.  In  one  of  his  last 
letters  on  this  subject,  he  said  to  me  that  he  was  then 
working  for  his  creditors,  and  that  he  could  not,  in  honor, 
cease  to  Mork  for  them  Avhilst  life  lasted,  till  their  debts 
were  paid.  He  then  hoped,  in  a  fcAv  years,  to  be  able  to 
discharge  all  of  his  liabilities. 

Mr.  Petigru  was  born  in  Abbeville  District.  His 
ancestral  name  was  written  Pettigrew,  as  General  Petti- 
grew  continued  to  write  his;  but  in  college  Mr.  Petigru 
changed  the  spelling  of  his  name.  His  mother  was  of 
French  descent,  and  his  father  Irish.  On  the  death  of 
his  mother,  he  and  his  wife  took  all  his  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, educated  them,  and  saw  them  well  married  and 
settled  in  life.  Mr.  Petigru  was  bordering  on  eighty  at 
his  death,  and  yet  there  was  scarcely  a  gray  hair  in  his 
head.  He  labored  most  arduously  throughout  his  life, 
and  yet  he  enjoyed  life  with  a  good  deal  of  freedom.  He 
drank  freely  at  times,  but,  as  he  once  told  me,  he  always 
had  his  gauge,  and  never  went  beyond  it.  No  one,  he 
said,  ought  ever  to  get  drunk  and  fall  down,  or  not  to  be 
able  to  preserve  the  proprieties  of  life.  He  should  know 
when  he  has  as  much  as  he  can  carry  or  ought  to  drink. 
Mr.  Petigru  was  short  and  stout  in  his  person,  with  a 
full  face  and  rather  long  head.  His  forehead  was  not 
high.  His  features  and  countenance  were  pleasant  and 
prepossessing;  his  manners  plain  and  simple.  There 
was  no  pretension  or  affectation  about  him.  He  drew 
every  one  to  him,  high  or  low,  by  his  cordial  heart. 
Everybody  loved  him,  down  to  the  servants  who  waited 
on  him  at  the  hotels.  He  was  one  of  the  best  writers  in 
the  State  or  United  States.  His  address  before  the 
South  Carolina  College,  on  the  semi-centennial  anniver- 


James  L.  Petigru.  259 

sary  of  that  institution,  was  a  most  finished  pi'oduction, 
and  would  have  done  credit  to  the  ablest  writers  of  Eng- 
land or  America.  As  a  speaker,  Mr.  Petigru  was 
peculiar.  He  did  not  deal  in  rhetoric  or  declamation,  but 
his  speeches  were  always  masterpieces  of  logic.  His  lan- 
guage was  beautiful  and  happy.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
taste  in  language  and  careful  in  the  use  of  words.  No 
one  could  express  himself  mth  more  clearness  and  precision, 
or  in  purer  language.  His  voice  was  a  singular  one,  and 
he  could  at  any  time  by  his  intonations  and  wit  convulse 
his  audience  with  laughter.  It  was  impossible  for  any 
one  to  be  grave  when  he  was  disposed  to  indulge  in  his 
peculiar  humor. 

Just  previous  to  the  secession  of  South  Carolina,  Mr. 
Petigru  came  to  my  room,  in  Columbia,  and  had  with 
me  a  long  and  very  interesting  conversation  in  regard  to 
the  contemplated  action  of  the  State  and  the  consequences 
of  disunion.  We  both  deplored  the  madness  and  folly 
which  possessed  the  jjublic  mind  in  South  Carolina  at 
that  time.  Mr.  Petigru  said  it  ^vas  most  amazing  that 
the  parish  gentlemen  should  be  so  strongl}-  in  favor  of 
disunion.  They  had  more  at  stake  than  any  others  in 
preserving  the  Union,  and  would  be  the  first  to  suffer 
from  secession.  They  lived  near  the  sea-coast,  and  it 
would  be  impossible  to  prevent  the  Northern  armies 
landing  and  carrying  off  all  their  slaves,  and,  perhaps, 
destroying  their  plantations.  He  thought  with  me  that 
disunion  would  be  the  death  knell  of  slavery.  He  said 
there  was  something  in  the  heart  of  every  good  man  that 
told  him  slavery  was  wrong ;  but  that  we  had  inherited 
the  institution  from  our  forefathers,  and  it  could  not  be 
changed  now  for  the  benefit  of  the  slave.  We  had  to 
defend  it,  for  in  doing  so  we  simply  defended  ourselves 
against  the  torch  of  the  incendiary  and  the  knife  of  the 
assassin.  He  de2:)recated  most  indignantly  the  acts  of 
violence  which  had  been  committed  on  the  innocent 
Northern  men  who  had  come  here.  He  alluded  to  a  case 
he  had  prosecuted  in  Walterboro'.      I  told  him  what  T 


260  James  L.  Petigru. 

had  aid  to  Governor  Means,  who  inquired  of  me  what 
course  I  would  take  after  the  State  seceded  ?  In 
reply,  I  said  that  I  had  been  trying  for  the  last  thirty 
years  to  save  the  State  from  the  horrors  of  disunion,  and 
that  they  were  now  all  going  to  the  devil,  and  I  would 
go  with  them.  He  said  I  had  exjDressed  his  own 
sentiments  and  feelings,  and  that  we  were  going  to  the 
devil. 

Mr.  Petigru  always  entertained  very  strong  Federal 
feelings  and  sentiments.  During  the  war  of  1812,  there 
was  some  fellow  who  took  offence  at  something  ISIr.  Peti- 
gru had  said  or  done,  and  called  him  "  a  damned  rascal," 
which  Mr.  Petigru  did  not  notice.  Immediately  after- 
wards he  called  him  "a  damned  Federalist,"  whereupon 
]Mr.  Petigru  knocked  him  down.  His  friends  expressed 
great  surprise  that  he  had  condescended  to  resent  anything 
the  fellow  had  said.  Not  having  noticed  the  first  insult, 
they  thought  it  wholly  unnecessary  to  have  resented  the 
second.  "  No,"  said  Mr.  Petigru,  "  I  did  not  care  about 
his  calling  me  a  damned  rascal,  for  I  knew  no  one  would 
believe  him  ;  but  when  he  called  me  a  Federalist,  I  felt 
that  there  was  some  truth  in  it,  and  that  if  I  did  not  re-r 
sent  the  imputation,  the  by-stauders  would  believe  it." 

Mr.  Petigru  was,  all  his  life,  a  religious  man,  and  had 
great  respect  for  all  the  observances  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  though  not  a  communicant.  A  young  chancellor 
from  the  country,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  went  to  Charleston  to  hold  court  for  the  first 
time,  and  was  not  aware  that  Good  Friday  was  so  sacredly 
kept  in  the  city.  Thursday  evening  something  was  said 
about  adjourning  over  till  Monday.  The  chancellor  pro- 
tested, and  said  that  he  had  come  to  dispatch  the  business 
of  the  court  as  soon  as  possible,  and  that  he  should  sit  the 
next  day.  Mr.  Petigru  pleasantly  remarked  to  him  that 
the  next  day  was  Good  Friday  !  The  Presbyterian  chan- 
cellor replied  that  it  made  no  difference,  he  could  hold 
court  on  Good  Friday  as  well  as  any  other  day.  Mr. 
Petigru  was  a  little  miffed  at  the  want  of  reverence  on 


James  L.  Petigru.  261 

the  part  of  his  Honor,  and  the  curt  manner  in  which  he 
replied.  He  gravely  said,  ''  May  it  please  your  Honor, 
I  have  never  heard  of  but  one  judge  holding  court  on 
Good  Friday,  and  that  was  Pontius  Pilate  ! " 

Soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  there  was  an  old 
man  who  brought  him  a  little  summary  process  of  twenty 
dollars  to  defend.  Mr.  Petigru  advised  his  client  very 
confidently  that  he  would  defeat  the  case.  The  old  man 
proved  troublesome,  and  was  asking  Mr.  Petigru,  every 
time  he  saw  him,  something  about  the  case.  At  last  he 
said  to  his  client,  "  Go  home  and  make  yourself  easy 
about  the  case,  for  I  pledge  you  my  word  that  you  will 
never  be  troubled  with  the  case  any  more."  The  old 
man  followed  Mr.  Petigru's  advice.  The  case  came  on, 
however,  and  the  judge  decided  against  M.  Petigru.  He 
took  an  appeal  and  the  appeal  was  dismissed.  Remem- 
bering what  he  had  told  his  old  and  troublesome  client, 
he  went  and  settled  the  decree  and  costs  out  of  his  own 
purse.  Two  or  three  years  afterwards,  this  old  man  was 
sued  again  in  another  case  for  a  sum  considerably  larger 
than  the  first.  He  came  to  Mr.  Petigru's  office  with  the 
copy- writ,  and  asked  him  to  serve  it  just  as  he  did  the  other. 
Mr.  Petigru  beo;o;ed  to  be  excused,  and  said  it  would  not 
be  convenient  for  himto  do  ! 

Mr.  Petigru  was  very  bitterly  opposed  to  the  clergy 
interfering  in  politics  and  preaching  political  sermons,  as 
they  were  in  the  habit  of  doing,  North  and  South,  before 
the  war.  He  thought  they  should  keep  aloof  from  all 
worldly  affairs  as  much  as  possible.  In  speaking  of  the 
part  the  clergy  had  acted,  in  both  sections  of  the  country, 
in  bringing  on  the  war  by  their  appeals  to  the  sectional 
feelings,  prejudices  and  passions  of  their  congregations,  he 
said  it  had  done  more  to  lessen  their  usefulness,  and  in- 
jure the  cause  of  religion,  with  those  who  were  not  mem- 
bers of  their  churches  than  anything  that  had  ever 
happened.  I  asked  him  one  day  to  go  and  hear  a 
certain  clergyman  who  had  been  in  battle,  and  boasted  of 


262  James   L.  Petiuru. 

havinjj;  killed   one  of  the  enemy.      He  repli^  :    "No, 
Perry,  1  eauiiot  listen  to  ii  homicidal  preacher." 

In  a  congressional  election  which  excited  a  good  deal 
of  interest  in  (Charleston,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Petigrn  tried 
to  persnade  liim  to  vote  against  the  incumbent.  He  re- 
plied to  them,  "  No,  no  ;  the  incumbent  is  fool  enough  for 
me,  and  I  have  no  ambition  to  improve  on  him  by  send- 
ing a  bigger  one  to  Congress." 

Mr.  Petiffru  had  no  talent  for  music.  It  is  said  that 
one  evening  he  heard  a  young  lady  tuning  her  guitar. 
Meeting  her  shortly  afterwards,  he  complimented  her  on 
the  sweet  music  he  had  just  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing 
from  her.  The  young  lady  was  greatly  surprised  at  the 
compliment,  and  said  "  I  was  only  tuning  my  guitar, — 
I  played  nothing !  "  I  remember  once  saying  to  Mrs. 
Fisher  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  very  fond  of  music,  that 
I  ct)uld  not  tell  one  tune  from  another.  She  replied  that 
she  did  not  know  how  it  was  possible. 

The  mornino;  after  South  Carolina  seceded  from  the 
Federal  Union,  Mr.  Perry  Duncan,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  Convention,  met  Mr,  Petigrn  in  the  streets  of 
Charleston  and  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  it.  Mr.  Peti- 
grn replied  that  no  good  could  come  of  it.  He  was  then 
asked  by  Mr.  Duncan  if  he  did  not  think  England  would 
be  forced  to  sustain  the  South  on  account  of  their  cotton. 
He  replied  that  he  did  not.  "  How,"  said  Mr.  Duncan, 
"  can  the  world  get  along  without  the  cotton  of  the 
Southern  States  ?  "  Mr.  Petigrn  replied,  "  that  if  the 
Southern  States  were  sunk  into  the  ocean,  the  world 
would  get  along  very  well  without  them.  It  had  done 
so  for  thousands  of  years  before  the  Southern  States  were 
settled,  or  cotton  was  cultivated." 

In  Columbia,  during  secession  times,  Mr.  Petigru  was 
asked  by  a  Northern  gentleman,  "  where  the  lunatic  asy- 
lum was?"  He  replied:  "The  asylum  is  up  on  the 
hill,  but  the  lunatics  are  all  over  the  State." 


ALFRED  HUGER. 

This  high-toned  and  noble  gentleman  has  been  gath- 
ered to  his  fathers,  full  of  honors.  He  was  the  last 
of  that  old  school  of  Carolina  gentlemen  which  gave 
character  and  position  to  the  State,  and  made  the  term 
"  Carolinian  "  respected  and  respectable  throughout  the 
Union.  It  was  the  grand  type  of  the  American  gentle- 
man. How  sad  the  reflection,  that  all  has  departed  from 
our  State,  and  the  high  officials  of  South  Carolina  at 
home  and  abroad,  are  now  synonymous  with  rogue, 
traitor  and  scoundrel. 

Mr.  Huger  was  a  Roman  in  person  and  character,  in 
heart  and  intellect.  He  was  tall,  slender  and  courtly  in 
his  appearance,  with  a  striking  face  and  symmetrical 
features.  His  head  and  face  would  have  adorned  a 
Grecian  or  Roman  medal.  In  his  manners,  he  was 
always  grave  and  digniiied,  yet  cordial,  frank  and  simple. 
For  honor,  sincerity  and  probity  of  character,  no  one  of 
his  illustrious  compeers  and  associates  in  that  proud  old 
school  of  Carolina  gentlemen  in  which  he  was  brought 
up,  could  surpass  him.  Higher  praise  no  one  can  bestow 
or  desire.  He  was  a  patriot  in  every  thought  and  feel- 
ing of  his  nature,  and  moreover,  he  was  a  hero  by  na- 
ture, and  would  have  died  cheerfully  a  martyr  in  defence 
of  his  principles. 

In  the  beginning  of  our  political  excitement  in  1830, 
Mr.  Huger's  associates  were  almost  all  of  the  States' 
rights  party,  and  he  himself  was  a  States'  rights  man, 
and  died  such.  But  when  they  adopted  the  doctrine  of 
nullification,  he  regarded  them  as  taking  a  position  not 
warranted  by   States'  rights  in  the  Constitution,  or  in 


264  Al.KKKO    llu<7KK. 

the  nature  of  our  Federal  compact,  l^ong,  and  most 
assiduously  tlid  they  strive,  by  every  means  in  their  power, 
to  retain  him  in  their  ranks,  and  make  him  a  convert 
to  their  new  doctrine.  He  resisted  boldly  and  frankly 
every  effort  they  made  to  win  him  over,  and  scorned  all 
their  overtures  of  honor  and  distinction.  They  proposed 
to  make  him  governor,  as  I  have  heard  him  say.  His 
little  parish,  which  he  represented  in  the  Senate,  for  a 
great  many  years,  undertook  to  instruct  him,  and  in 
case  of  disobedience  to  those  instructions,  requested  him 
to  resign  his  seat,  and  let  them  elect  some  one  who  would 
carry  out  their  political  views.  When  I  met  him  that 
fall  in  Columbia,  he  said  to  me,  that  he  would  just  as 
soon  think  of  resigning  his  commission  as  commanding 
general  on  the  eve  of  a  great  battle. 

Mr.  Huger  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Con- 
vention in  1832,  by  the  people  of  Spartanburg  District, 
although  he  resided  in  Charleston,  and,  perhaps,  had 
never  been  in  the  district  in  his  life.  They  knew  that 
he  was  a  Union  man,  and  his  high  character  was  a 
suflScient  guarantee  to  them  of  his  fidelity  to  his  trust. 
A  great  effort  Avas  made  by  the  Union  party  to  send  to 
this  convention  wherever  they  had  a  majority,  their 
purest,  ablest  and  best  men  without  regard  to  their  resi- 
dence. Judge  Huger  was  elected  in  Horry  District ; 
Chief  Justice  O'Neall  and  Judge  Richardson  were  also 
elected  in  Spartanburg ;  Governor  ISIiddleton  was  elected 
in  Greenville,  AA'ho  had  just  returned  to  Charleston  from 
his  Russian  mission,  after  an  absence  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
years.  Mr.  Huger  came  to  Columbia  when  the  con- 
vention assembled,  and  the  first  word  he  said  to  me 
when  we  met  in  the  streets,  was  :  "  This  is  no  place  for 
us,  we  have  no  business  here,  let  them  carry  out  their 
wicked  folly,  if  they  will,  we  cannot  prevent  them,  and 
should  not  countenance  them  by  our  presence."  But  he 
yielded  his  convictions  to  the  judgment  of  others,  and 
took  his  seat  in  the  convention. 


Alfred  Huger.  265 

Mr.  Huger  was  a  most  eloquent  declaimer.  He  spoke 
with  great  earnestness,  and  every  one  who  heard  him, 
saw  and  felt  his  sincerity.  He  spoke  often  in  the  State 
Senate,  and  I  have  frequently  listened  to  him  for  hours 
with  thrilled  feelings.  He  had  a  fine  voice,  and  his  de- 
livery was  admirable.  You  could  not  look  at  his  manly 
form,  and  hear  his  noble  effusions  of  honor,  virtue  and 
jjatriotism,  without  thinking  him  worthy  of  being  a 
Roman  Senator  in  the  purest  and  best  days  of  the  Re- 
public. In  his  old  age  he  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Convention  which  assembled  for  reconstructing  the  State 
imder  President  Johnson's  administration.  He  spoke 
frequently  in  the  assembly,  and  always  commanded  the 
respect  and  attention  of  the  members.  He  and  Judges 
Wardlaw  and  Hawkins  were  sent  by  the  convention  to 
intercede  with  the  President  for  the  release  of  Jefferson 
Davis.  In  addressing  President  Johnson,  he  said,  in 
effect,  that  South  Carolina  was  willing  to  do  anything 
which  his  Excellency  might  request.  This  was  rather 
too  broad  a  confidence  to  place  in  any  one,  thought 
Judge  Hawkins,  and  he  expressed  in  courteous  terms,  his 
di&sent.  Mr.  Huger  said  to  him  afterwards,  acknowl- 
edging the  correction,  "  Well,  sir,  my  last  public  act  has 
been  a  blunder." 

Judge  Patterson,  the  son-in-law  of  President  Johnson, 
told  me  that  whilst  the  delegation  above  mentioned  were 
at  the  White  House,  he  said  to  Mr.  Huger,  "  I  know 
more  about  you  than,  perhaps,  you  are  aware  of."  "  I 
hope  it  is  nothing  bad,"  said  Mr.  Huger.  The  judge 
then  told  him  that  he  heard  him  make  a  political  speech 
at  Greenville  in  the  days  of  nullification  and  secession. 
This  speech  was  made  by  invitation  of  the  citizens,  and 
was  regarded  by  all  who  heard  it,  as  the  best  Union 
speech  they  had  ever  heard.  Mr.  Huger  was  on  his 
return  from  the  Virginia  Springs.  He  rode  on  horse- 
back to  the  Springs  and  returned  in  the  same  way. 
When  he  reached  the  most  fashionable  of  these  Springs, 
he  was  assigned  a  very  inferior  room,  and  was  indiffer- 


2G6  Alkked  Hugek. 

ently  waited  on  by  the  servants.  He  noticed  that  others 
who  came  after  liini  in  their  carriages  had  better  accom- 
modations than  himself".  Tliereupon,  he  went  to  the 
hindlord  and  told  him  to  add  to  his  registration,  two 
horses  and  a  servant,  and  give  him  accommodations  ac- 
cordingly. 

Mr.  Huger  had  no  children,  and  he  adopted  a  nephew 
who  became  a  captain  in  the  Confederate  navy,  and  was 
killed  at  New  Orleans.  This  nephew  and  adopted  son 
had  married  the  sister  of  Major-General  Meade,  of  the 
United  States  army,  who  died  prior  to  her  husband. 
Mr.  Alfred  Huger  had  the  children  of  his  adopted  son 
with  him  in  Columbia  at  the  time  General  Meade  visited 
that  city  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  me  as  Provisional 
Governor  of  the  State.  The  General  was  in  command 
at  that  time  of  all  the  Atlantic  States.  After  we  had 
arranged  the  business  which  brought  us  together,  he 
said  to  me  that  he  was  going  to  call  on  Mr.  Huger,  to 
see  his  sister's  children,  and  ask  Mr.  Huger  to  to  let  him 
take  the  children  home  with  him  to  educate  and  bring 
up.  He  had  understood  Mr.  Huger  was  in  very  strait- 
ened circumstances,  and  not  able  to  support  and  educate 
the  children.  On  his  return  he  told  me  that  Mr.  Huger 
would  not  think  of  parting  with  the  children,  and  deli- 
cately alluded  to  the  fact,  that  their  education  at  the 
North  would  be  hostile  to  their  native  State  and  the 
memory  of  their  gallant  father.  General  Meade  ac- 
quiesced in  the  views  of  Mr.  Huger,  and  could  not  insist 
on  taking  the  children. 

Whilst  I  was  Provisional  Governor,  Mr.  Huger 
called  to  see  me  one  morning,  at  Nickerson's  Hotel,  in 
Columbia,  just  before  starting  to  Charleston.  I  requested 
him  to  call  and  see  General  Sickles  on  his  arrival  in 
Charleston,  and  ask  the  gentlemen  of  the  city  to  do  so. 
I  said  General  Sickles  was  in  command  of  the  State, 
and  it  -was  better  to  treat  him  respectfully.  He  said  he 
bad  been  thinking  about  this  matter  himself,  and  he 
should  regard  my  request  as  a  command.     When  I  first 


Alfred  Huger.  267 

went  on  to  Washington  after  my  appointment,  I  called  on 
the  President  and  requested  him  to  appoint  Mr.  Huger 
Postmaster  of  Charleston.  He  promised  to  do  so,  and  I 
so  stated  to  Mr.  Huger  on  my  return  to  Columbia.  He 
had  never  said  one  word  to  me  about  the  ajjpointment. 
There  were  a  good  many  others  w^ho  had  applied  to  me 
for  the  appointment.  Mr.  Huger  was  appointed  Post- 
master of  the  city  by  General  Jackson,  and  continued  in 
office  till  the  close  of  the  war.  His  predecessor  had 
been  appointed  by  Washington.  Charleston  had  only 
had  two  postmasters  at  that  time,  from  the  organization 
of  the  Federal  Government.  But  the  iron-clad  oath 
was  an  insuperable  bar  to  Mr.  Huger's  restoration  to 
the  post-office.  I  thought,  when  I  suggested  the  appoint- 
ment to  the  President,  that  this  oath  would  not  be 
exacted. 

When  the  civil  war  broke  out  between  the  North  and 
the  South,  Mr.  Huger,  although  a  strong  Union  man, 
did  not  hesitate  to  go  with  his  State.  He  closed  his 
accounts  as  postmaster,  with  the  United  States,  and  de- 
posited the  money  due  the  Government  in  the  Charleston 
Bank.  He  so  informed  the  Postmaster-General.  But 
the  money  was  seized  by  the  Confederate  States,  and 
after  the  war  was  over  suit  was  brought  against  Mr. 
Huger  and  his  sureties  to  recover  this  money,  amounting 
to  several  thousand  dollars.  The  case  was  heard  before 
Judge  Bryan,  before  all  justice  had  fled  the  State,  and 
the  jury  found  a  verdict  in  favor  of  Mr.  Huger. 

In  1866  and  1867,  I  was  engaged  in  writing  some 
article  against  the  Congressional  reconstruction  of  South 
Carolina.  Mr.  Huger  wrote  me  a  very  long  letter,  ap- 
proving of  my  articles,  and  enforcing  the  views  I  had 
taken,  with  additional  argument  and  suggestions.  There 
were  few  public  men  in  South  Carolina  who  so  uni- 
formly commanded  the  respect  of  all  parties  as  Alfred 
Huger.  I  do  not  remember  that  any  one,  in  the  highest 
excitement  of  politics,  ever  attempted  to  disparage  him, 
or  reflect  on  his  honor  and  patriotism. 


268  Alfred  Hugek. 

As  an  evidence  of  his  fearless  advocraey  of  justice, 
right  and  humanity,  I  will  mention  a  single  instance. 
In  time  of  our  Abolition  excitement,  the  Legislature 
passed  a  law  requiring  all  colored  seamen  to  be  lodged 
in  jail  during  the  stay  of  their  vessel  in  any  port  in 
South  C\irolina.  Mr.  Huger  had  seen  some  seamen  car- 
ried to  jail  under  this  law.  He  denounced  it  fiercely, 
and  wrote  me  a  letter  whilst  I  was  in  the  I^egislature,  to 
try  and  have  the  odious  and  unjust  law  repealed.  It  was 
rather  dangerous  to  express  such  sentiments  in  Charles- 
ton at  that  time.  I  did  make  the  attempt  requested, 
but  it  failed  signally. 

In  my  remembrances  of  Judge  Huger,  I  have  men- 
tioned the  affectionate  intimacy  which  existed  between 
him  and  his  cousin  Alfred  Huger.  They  were  very 
much  alike  in  their  characters,  thoughts  and  actions. 
The  last  time  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Mr.  Alfred 
Huger,  his  mind  seemed  as  clear  and  vigorous  as  it  ever 
was.  He  was  eighty-four  years  old  at  his  death.  But 
a  few  weeks  prior  to  his  death,  I  received  a  circular 
signed  by  him,  proposing  to  erect  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  William  Gilmore  Simms. 


WILLIAM  DRAYTON.. 

There  was  something  in  the  character  of  Col.  William 
Dra)i:on  that  always  reminded  me  of  Washington.  He 
had  all  of  Washington's  purity  of  character,  his  firmness, 
dignity,  patriotism  and  high  sense  of  honor.  For  ability, 
he  was  not  inferior  to  Washington,  had  he  had  the  great 
field  of  operation  or  theatre,  on  which  the  father  of  his 
country  acted,  to  show  his  talents  and  wisdom,  I  know 
this  is  a  sort  of  Icesa  rnaglstratis  to  compare  any  one  to 
the  illustrious  founder  of  our  Republic,  It  is  thought 
not  only  in  America,  but  in  Europe,  that  Washington, 
of  all  public  men,  stands  pre-eminent.  This  I  admit 
most  cordially ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  I  believe  there 
have  been  many  others,  unknown  to  fame,  who  would 
and  could  have  acted  as  Washington  did,  under  pre- 
cisely the  same  circumstances. 

Colonel  Drayton  stands  high,  very  high,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  all  who  knew  him,  as  a  statesman  and  patriot. 
Immediately  after  the  war  of  1812,  General  Jackson  re- 
commended him  to  President  Monroe  as  Secretary  of 
War.  South  Carolina  has  just  cause  to  pride  herself  as 
the  Roman  matron  did  on  her  sons,  No  State  in  the 
Union,  except  perhaps,  Virginia,  can  boast  of  a  brighter 
galaxy  of  public  men  than  South  Carolina,  in  proportion 
to  her  population  and  territory.  This  was  the  case  from 
her  earliest  history  up  to  the  recent  destruction  of  all  that 
is  wise,  patriotic  or  decent  in  public  affairs. 

Colonel  Drayton  was  born  in  South  Carolina.  His 
father  moved  from  South  Carolina,  his  native  State,  to 
Florida,  previous  to  the  American  Revolution,  and 
whilst  that  territory  belonged  to  Great  Britain.     He  was 


270  William   Drayton. 

appointed  Chief"  Justiee  of  Florida,  under  the  British 
crown,  and  remained  there  till  Florida  was  receded  to 
Spain.  He  then  returned  to  South  Carolina,  and  wa.s 
immediat(!ly  appointed  a  District  Judge,  and  afterwards 
elected  to  the  law  bench.  He  had  been  educated  in  Eng- 
land. His  distinguished  son,  the  subject  of  this  reminis- 
cence, was  also  educated  in  England,  and  read  law  there. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  South  Carolina,  established 
himself  as  a  lawyer  in  Charleston,  and  succeeded  to  a 
most  extensive  and  lucrative  practice.  He  and  Judge 
Cheves  were  at  the  head  of  the  Charleston  bar,  and 
always  on  opposite  sides.  He  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Legislature,  and  afterwards  city  judge,  with  a  salary 
of  thirty-five  hundred  dollars.  In  the  Legislature  he 
did  not  make  himself  prominent  as  a  public  speaker.  I 
remember  hearing  Judge  Huger  say  that  Col.  Drayton 
made  only  one  speech  whilst  he  was  in  the  Legislature, 
and  that  was  on  the  subject  of  selling  chickens  in  Charles- 
ton. As  City  Judge,  he  discharged  all  the  duties  of  his 
office  with  great  ability  and  learning,  till  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  Congress  from  Charleston.  He  served  in 
Congress  a  number  of  years,  but  did  not  take  as  active  a 
part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  House  as  his  talents  and 
ability  entitled  him  to.  Here  again  he  was  like  Wash- 
ington, who  never  figured  in  a  deliberative  assembly  as 
a  public  speaker. 

Whilst  Colonel  Drayton  was  in  Congress,  the  doctrine 
of  nullification  sprung  up  in  South  Carolina.  Colonel 
Drayton  A\^as  strongly  opposed  to  the  tariff  for  protec- 
tion ;  but  he  was  unwilling  to  resort  to  such  a  remedy 
as  nullification,  a  remedy  unconstitutional  and  futile  in 
his  estimation,  for  the  purpose  of  opposing  the  tariff*. 
He  differed  with  the  w^hole  South  Carolina  delegation  on 
this  subject,  and  with  his  constituents.  He  published  ar 
address  at  that  time,  wdiich  I  remember  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  organization  of  parties  in  South  Carolina,  on 
the  subject  of  the  Federal  Union.  He  declined  being  a 
candidate  for  re-election  to  Congress,  and  his  pride  and 


William   Drayton.  271 

dignity  were  so  much  oifended  by  the  course  of  his 
friends  and  constituents,  that  he  determined  to  leave  the 
State,  and  moved  to  Philadelphia.  Whilst  he  remained 
here,  he  took  an  active  part  in  opposing  nullification, 
and  defending  the  American  Union.  His  counsel  and 
advice  was  again  like  that  of  Washington's  in  his  fare- 
well address  to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  His 
removal  was  a  great  loss  to  South  Carolina,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  Colonel  Drayton  himself  deeply  regretted 
the  necessity  of  his  removal  from  his  native  State. 

In  time  of  this  political  excitement,  as  in  times  of  all 
political  excitements,  there  was  a  disposition  to  calum- 
niate and  traduce  opponents.  This  teeling  was  carried 
so  far  that  search  was  made  into  the  character  of  a  man's 
ancestry,  to  see  whether  there  was  not  some  stain  or  blot 
on  their  escutcheon.  It  was  reported  that  Col.  Dray- 
ton's father  had  been  a  tory  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
In  consequence  of  this  report — said  to  have  been  founded 
on  the  assertion  of  Chancellor  DeSaussure — I  wrote  the 
Chancellor  and  Judge  Huger  inquiring  about  the  truth 
of  the  matter,  and  received  from  them  the  following 
letters,  which  are  worthy  of  publication,  in  reference  to 
Colonel  Drayton's  life  and  the  character  of  his   father : 

Columbia,  6ih  St-ptember,  1831. 
Dear  Sir: — I  received  your  letter  of  ilie  3<i  September,  staling 
th  ii  there  was  a  report  in  circiilaiion  in  Greenville  "  that  the  father 
of  I  ol.  Drayton  was  a  Tory  during  the  Eevokilionary  war,"  and 
thai  il  was  said  on  my  aulhoriiy ;  and  rpquesiinjj;  information  as  to 
tlie  fact.  I  l)ave  not  the  least  hesitation  in  stating  facts  to  you.  1 
remember  that  durinir  my  last  circuit,  I  was  at^ked  two  or  perhaps 
three  timts,  at  diflerent  places,  who  was  the  father  of  Cul.  Drayton, 
and  what  part  he  ii^d  taken  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  My 
answer  was  as  fr;ink  then  as  it  is  now:  That  1  had  always  under- 
stood that  Mr.  William  Drayton,  tiie  lather  of  Col.  Drayton,  who 
was  an  excellent  lawyer,  had  been  appointed  a  judge  (or,  I  believe, 
Chief  Justice),  of  East  Florida,  then  a  British  Frovince,  before  ihe 
Kevolutiunary  war  ;  that  he  was  in  office  there,  with  a  family,  and 
seitled  belore  that  content  commenced.  He  remained  in  his  station. 
E.ist  a*  well  as  West  Hori'ia  were  ceded  hy  Great  Britain  to  Spain, 
at  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  William  Drayton,  it  was  said,  then 
went  to  England,  and  not  long  after  came  to  his  native  Stale,  with 
his  family,  and  settled  here  permanently.     This  is  the  sum  of  the 


272  William   Drayton. 

story,  and  I  did  not  expect  thatsiich  a  statement,  given  in  answer  lo 
inquiries,  made  in  llie  free  conversation  of  private  society,  conld  or 
would  liave  been  used  for  political  pnrjtoses.  I  certainly  did  not 
mean  to  communicate  tlie  idea  to  Mr.  Drayton,  the  father,  was  a 
Tory,  nor  could  I  have  used  that  term,  for  gentlemen  situated  as 
Mr.  Drayton  was,  never  were  considered  Tories.  It  must  have  been 
au  inference  drawn  by  some  of  the  gentlemen  to  whom  this  com- 
jnunication  was  made,  that  he  wlio  was  not  with  us,  was  against  us, 
and  therefore  was  a  Tory.  But  this  was  not  the  understanding  of 
tho.«e  days,  for  as  Mr.  Drayton  was  not  in  the  United  States  during 
the  Revolution,  but  held  a  commission  in  another  Province,  no 
blame  was  attached  to  him  for  remaining  where  he  was.  As  evi- 
dence of  this,  I  mention,  from  my  own  knowledge,  that  as  soon  as 
he  returned  to  Carolina,  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  those  distin- 
guished Whigs,  Mr.  Jolin  Rutledge,  Mr.  Eilmund  Rutledge,  Gen. 
Chas.  C.  Pinckney,  Thos.  Pinckney,  and  very  many  more  of  the 
most  ardent  Whigs  of  the  Revolution.  Nor  was  it  mere  civility. 
By  their  influence  and  his  knosvn  talents  and  probity,  he  was  very 
soon  ai)pointed  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Admiralty,  then  a  State  office; 
and  in  ihe  session  of  the  Legislature  of  January  and  February,  1788, 
Mr,  Drayton  was  elected  to  a  seat  on  the  Law  Bench  at  the  same 
time  with  our  lamented  Waties ;  so  too  the  venerable  Judge  Bay, 
who  had  also  held  office  under  the  British  Government,  in  West 
Florida,  and  the  excellent  and  amiable  Dr.  Turnbull,  father  of  Mr. 
Robert  G.  Turnbull,  who  both  came  and  settbdin  Charleston,  when 
the  t^pauiards  cimquered  West  Florida,  in  1778,  were  never  consid- 
ered Tories  They  were  respected  and  beloved,  as  they  deserved 
to  be;  and  Judge  Bay  was  soon  sent  to  the  Legislature  and  the 
State  Convention,  and  in  February,  1791,  was  elected  to  our  Law 
Bench,  to  which  he  has  done  honor.  At  that  time  Tories,  and  even 
the  innocent  and  respectable  sons  of  Tories,  whom  I  could  name,  if 
necessary,  were  excluded  by  public  opinion  from  public  office  for  a 
much  longer  period.  Jt  is  quite  mortifying  that  answers  made  to 
the  younger  generation,  who  are  anxious  to  know  everything  about 
the  JRevolution  and  its  leaders,  should  be  misapprehended  and  made 
use  of  for  political  objects.  All  Mr.  Drayton's  family  in  Carolina 
were  Whigs,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  he  would  have  been  if  he 
had  been  there. 

The  long  continued  rains,  often  sweeping  the  crops  in  the  low 
grounds  on  the  rivers,  have  commenced  the  more  distressing  opera- 
tion of  making  the  country  sickly  — Camden  and  Pee  Dee  are  both 
said  to  be  very,  and  we  are  looking  for  our  turn  here,  for  we  appre- 
hend it  will  be  universal. 

With  great  esteem, 
I  remain  yours, 
HENRY  W.  DeSAUSSURE. 

B.  F.  Perry,  Esq. 


V  . 


i^^J^t 


William  Deayton.        \\(rx '/^^2f^>.  \?^'^y 

My  Dear  Sir :    A  Providential  affliction  has  prevent«d  me  from 
answering  your  letteriat   an   earlier  period,  and  I  now  feel   that  I    -'/'.<■ 
have  not  tieen  able  to  collect  as  correct   information    upon   the  sub-         ,(^ y 
ject  of  your  letter  as  I  could  desire,  or  you  perhaps  be  satisfied  with. "  ■»■ 

Colonel  Drayton's  father  was  born  in  this  State  long  prior  to  the 
Revolution,  and  educated  in  England,  as  was  the  custom  almost 
universally  with  the  most  opulent  families  in  the  State  (th  en  Pro- 
vince). His  whole  family  were  Whigs.  He  was  a  judge  in  Florida 
prior  to  the  Revolution,  and  continued  so  until  the  treaty  of  peace, 
when  he  returned  to  his  native  State,  and  was  immediately  elected 
a  judge,  first  by  this  State  and  then  by  the  United  States. 
'■During  the  Revolutionary  war,  he  was  twice  suspended  by  the 
Governor  of  Florida.  He  was  not  only  a  native  of  the  State,  and 
all  his  blood  relations  were  rebels,  but  lie  had  married  here  into  the 
Motte  family,  equally  distinguished  with  his  own  for  their  opposi- 
tion to  British  usurpation.  There  were  perhaps  no  two  families  in  the 
State  more  distinguished  for  their  zeal  in  the  American  cause  than 
these.  Their  names  and  services  are  recorded  in  our  history  of  that 
period. 

Colonel  Drayton  himself  received  the  elementary  part  of  his  edu- 
cation in  England.  He  returned  to  this  country  about  the  age  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen,  and  ever  since  has  been  distinguished  for  his  high 
character  and  acquirements  in  military  and  civil  life.  At  the  close 
of  the  war,  he  was  in  nomination  before  the  Senate  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  brigadier's  commission,  so  well  satisfied  was  the  Gov- 
ernment with  his  services  in  garrison  and  on   the  northern  frontier. 

He  had  abandoned  the  most  lucrative  practice  ever  enjoyed  at 
the  Bar,  to  defend  the  violated  rights  of  hi?  co'mtry.  He  no  sooner 
returned  after  the  war,  to  the  walks  of  civil  life,  than  he  was  ad- 
vanced to  the  highest  judicial  station  in  the  gift  of  his  fellow  citi- 
zens of  Charleston,  with  whom  he  had  always  lived,  and  to  whom 
he  was  best  known.  At  their  request,  he  relinquished  this  honora- 
ble station  (with  a  salary  of  $3,500),  and  accepted  a  seat  in  Con- 
gress, where  his  services  have  been  rendered  honestly,  fearlessly 
and  with  ability.  It  is  known  that  he  has  refused  a  high  appoint- 
ment from  the  Government,  from  the  deep  interest  he  feels  in  the 
present  disturbed  and  revolutionary  state  of  his  native  country. 

This  is  a  faint  outline  of  the  character  and  patriotism  of  Colonel 
Drayton  to  public  confidence.  It  would  be  well  for  our  country 
that  we  had  many  such.  He  has  never  solicited  office.  He  has 
never  joined  a  faction  to  advance  his  own  interest.  It  is  known 
that  even  the  public  station  he  now  holds  has  been  pushed  upon 
him.  His  wish  was  to  retire.  His  enemies  have  cause  to  abuse 
him.  The  purity  of  his  conduct,  and  disinterestedness  of  his  char- 
acter, is  a  lasting  and  deep  reproach  on  their  selfish  and  ambitious 
disregard  of  the  peace,  order  and  happiness  of  this  State. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect  and  regard. 

Yours,  &c.,     D.  E.  HUGER. 

P.  S. — We  lost  the  election  here  from  two  causes,  principally  : 
Ist.  The  immense  sums  of  money  expended  by  our  opponents.  2d. 
Their  superior  organization. 


THOMAS  S.  GRIMKE. 

Mr.  Grimke  was  a  very  extraordinan^  man.  He  had 
groat  leariiiiit!:  and  great  talents.  He  Avas  a  most  pious 
Christian  and  pure  man  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  In 
advocating  his  views  and  carrying  out  his  principles,  he 
wa.s  as  bold  as  a  lion.  He  had  too  much  honor 
and  honesty  to  succeed  as  a  politician,  though  he  was 
once  elected  to  the  State  Senate  from  the  city  of  Charles^ 
ton.  In  the  Senate  chamber,  he  distinguished  himself 
as  a  debater.  He  w^as  the  most  fluent  sjieaker  I  ever 
heard.  The  words  seemed  to  flow  from  his  lips  like  a 
gentle  stream  that  was  never  to  end.  He  M-as  an  emi- 
nent, lawyer,  and  surpassed  by  none  in  the  State  for  his 
full  and  exact  knowledge  of  the  law.  He  was  a  very 
small  man,  and  not  prepossessing  in  his  appearance. 
Mr.  Grinike  Avas  the  advocate  of  codifying  the  laws  of 
South  Carolina,  and  made  an  argument  of  great  ability 
on  that  subject  in  the  Senate.  His  speech  on  the  Tariif 
question  was  replete  with  wisdom,  learning,  and  patri- 
otism. I  saw  him,  once,  vote  a  minority  of  one  in  the 
Senate.  Governor  Hamilton,  afterwards,  did  the  same 
thing,  when  he  said,  "  Minorities  had  no  terrors  for  me." 
Mr.  Grimke  wrote  a  great  many  articles  for  the  Southern 
Review,  but  they  were  dull  and  heaw,  notwithstanding 
their  learning  and  ability.  Although  a  profound  lawyer, 
suqDassed  by  none  in  his  remembrance  of  cases,  he  was 
not  regarded  as  a  very  successful  practitioner  at  the  bar. 
Judge  Martin  called  him  a  walking  library,  and  said, 
whilst  on  the  circuit,  he  always  applied  to  Grimke  for 
his  law,  instead  of  consulting  the  books.  Grimke  could 
refer  him  to  case  and  page. 


Thomas  S.  Grimke.  275 

In  our  nullification  excitement,  Mr.  Grimke  was  a 
strong  Union  man,  and  boldly  resisted  the  new  political 
heresy  with  a  zeal  and  ability  surpassed  by  no  one.  In 
a  letter  addressed  to  the  State  Convention  of  South  Caro- 
lina, he  declared  that  he  would  sooner  give  his  right  arm 
to  the  President  of  that  body  for  a  cockade,  than  raise  it 
against  the  Union  of  the  States.  Whilst  in  the  Senate, 
he  exhibited  great  firmness  in  calling  to  account  Governor 
Wilson  for  his  defalcation  during  the  term  of  his  gover- 
norship. Wilson  was  elected  to  the  Senate  on  the  expi- 
ration of  his  term  as  governor.  He  had  made  iLse  of 
five  thousand  dollars  of  the  contingent  flmd,  and  he  had 
brow-beaten  and  scared  off  all  who  attempted  to  bring 
him  to  an  account  for  this  fraud.  Grimke  took  the 
matter  in  hand,  and  was  going  to  move  his  expulsion 
from  the  Senate,  when  the  money  was  paid  into  the 
Treasury  by  Wilson's  fi-iends.  Wilson  was  a  professed 
duelist,  and  no  one  liked  to  become  his  accaser  and  prose- 
cutor. I  remember  hearing  Judge  Huger  say,  that 
although  Grimke  would  not  fight  a  duel,  he  would 
stand  on  top  of  a  house  burning  down  longer  than 
Wilson,  if  duty  or  manhood  required  it.  He  was  a 
most  just  and  exact  man  in  all  things.  He  was  gov- 
erned by  principle  and  right  in  all  the  transactions  of 
hfe,  great  and  small.  Judge  Martin  told  me  that  they 
were  once  traveling  on  the  circuit,  and  stopped  to  take 
a  lunch  on  the  roadside.  A  boy  got  for  them  two  or 
three  bundles  of  fodder  for  their  horses.  When  they 
started  Grimke  gave  the  boy  a  quartei"  of  a  dollar,  which 
was  the  least  change  he  had,  and  three  times  the  value  of 
the  fodder.  Judge  Martin  then  discovered  that  he  had 
ten  cents  in  his  pocket,  and  was  about  to  throw  it  to  the 
boy.  "  No,"  said  Grimke,  "  give  it  to  me ;  I  have  paid 
three  times  as  much  as  the  fodder  is  worth  already  !' 
Judge  Martin  said  if  Grimke  had  an  execution  against 
an  old  woman,  he  would  make  the  sheriff  sell  her  out, 
although  he  might,  the  next  day,  give  the  old  woman  as 


276  Thomas  S.  Grimke. 

much  as  her  property  was  worth.     Duty  to  his  client 
was  one  thing,  and  cliarity  was  another. 

Thomas  S.  Griinko  was  the  sou  of  Judge  Grimke,  of 
Soutli  Carolina,  who  wrote  and  compiled  several  valu- 
able law  books.  No  one  would  take  Mr.  Grimke,  from 
his  appearance,  for  a  great  man.  He  was  a  fine  Latin 
and  Greek  scholar,  and  had  been  thoroughly  educated. 
But  he  wTote  some  articles  in  the  Southern  Monthly  to 
prove  that  yoimg  men  wasted  a  great  many  years  in  ac- 
quiring a  knowledge  of  the  classics,  which  was  of  no 
value  to  them  in  after  life.  He  was  a  great  utilitarian  in 
all  his  views  of  life.  He  had  a  peculiar,  but  very  sen- 
sible, notion  about  spelling  words  as  they  were  pro- 
nounced. It  was  jestingly  said  of  him,  that  in  spelUng 
his  christian  name,  Thomas,  he  would  leave  out  the  "  h  " 
as  superfluous.  He  went  to  Cincinnati  to  deliver  an 
address  before  some  literary  society,  and  there  died  of 
cholera.  He  was  comparatively  a  young  man  at  his 
death.  Had  he  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  he  would  have 
been  a  prodigy  or  learning,  for  he  never  ceased  acquiring 
knowlalge  on  all  subjects,  and  never  forgot  what  he  had 
acquired.  He  was  the  great  advocate  of  temperance 
and  temperance  societies,  long  before  Cliief  Justice  O'Xeall 
commenced  his  crusade  in  the  cause.  He  was  the  bold 
uncompromising  advocate  of  religion,  morality,  virtue, 
and  ever\i^hing  that  made  his  fellowman  happier  and 
better.  He  was,  indeed,  a  philanthropist,  a  patriot,  and 
a  Christian,  as  well  as  a  laAvyer,  a  statesman  and  phil- 
osopher, in  both  the  ancient  and  modern  sense  of  the 
words.  He  was  an  economist  and  utilitarian  of  the 
Franklin  school. 


J.  FRANCIS  FISHER. 

I  was  greatly  pained  the  other  day  to  see  the  death  of 
this  noble  and  accomplished  gentleman  announced  in  the 
Northern  papers.  The  Xew  York  Woidd  speaks  of  him 
as  follows : 

"  Mr.  Fisher  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Pliiladelphia,  not  professionally  or  politically,  but 
socially,  as  a  leader  of  society  and  a  type  of  an  ancient 
order  of  things.  He  was  descended  from  the  ancient 
proprietary  aristocracy  of  Philadelphia,  a  matter  of 
which  he  made  no  boast,  but  of  which  he  had  the  inno- 
cent pride  which,  mingled  with  higher  motives,  made  liis 
career  one  of  pure  and  consistent  integrity.  Mr.  Fisher 
was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1807,  and  was  graduated  at 
Harv^ard.  His  large  fortune  exempted  him  from  the 
necessities  of  professional  labor,  although  he  studied  law 
in  the  office  of  the  late  Mr.  Ingersoll,  and  was  admitted 
to  practice.  His  tastes  were  purely  literary,  and  he  de- 
voted himself  mainly  to  the  illustration  of  the  ante-Rev- 
olutionar}^  history  of  his  native  State.  Outside  of  his 
State,  however,  he  was  best  known  by  his  essays  on  re- 
forms in  the  system  of  our  representation.  Hare  was 
but  little  earlier  in  the  field  of  discussion  upon  this  sub- 
ject, than  Mr.  Fisher,  and  INIill  was  later.  ]\Ir.  Fisher's 
house  was  always  a  most  attractive  centre.  His  political 
opinions  were  intensely  conservative  in  relation  to  the 
peaceful  politics  of  the  country,  but  it  is  simply  a  matter 
of  justice  to  say  that  when  the  agony  of  civil  convulsion 
broke  upon  us,  his  conservatism  did  not  prevent  him 
from  giving  to  what  proved  the  weiiker  cause,  his  earnest 
sympathies.     Discharging  all  his  duties  as  a  citizen  faith- 


278  J.  Francis  Fisher. 

fully,  he  did  uot  deem  it  au  iueonsistency  out  of  liis  am- 
ple meau.s,  to  assist  liberally  his  Southern  friends.  Many 
a  desolate  home  and  lamily  circle  have  been  cheered  by 
his  large  liberality.  His  death  is  mourned  by  a  large 
circle  near  and  at  a  distance." 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  making  his  acquaintance  whilst 
attending  the  Philadelphia  Convention,  in  1866.  Gov- 
ernor jNIanning  introducetl  him  to  me  as  the  son-in-law 
of  my  old  friend,  Governor  Middleton,  of  South  Carolina. 
He  married  the  Governor's  youngest  daughter.  The 
South  Carolina  delegation  were  invited  to  dine  Avith  him 
at  his  country  residence,  "  Alverthorpe,"  ten  or  twelve 
miles  from  Philadelphia,  where  I  spent  several  days  with 
him  and  his  most  interesting  family.  Mr.  Fisher's  mind 
and  heart  had  been  highly  cultivated  in  all  the  stores  of 
literature  and  pure  Christian  benevolence.  He  was  a 
most  genial  companion,  and  the  soul  of  honor  and  every 
noble  impulse  of  the  human  heart.  His  fortune  enabled 
him  to  live  like  au  Englishman,  and  dispense  hospitality 
as  well  as  charit}\  During  the  war  he  deeply  sympa- 
thized viith  the  South  and  his  friends  in  South  Carolina. 
His  purse  was  open  to  all  who  were  in  distress,  and  he 
assisted  largely  his  wife's  relatives  in  South  Carolina,  af- 
ter the  close  of  the  war.  But  notwithstanding  all  this, 
Mr.  Fisher  was,  as  the  "  World  "  says,  intensely  conser- 
vative. He  had  been  educated  and  brought  up  in  the 
school  of  Washington,  and  was  national  in  all  his  feelings. 
No  one  abhorred  more  than  he  did,  all  sectional  jealousies, 
oppression  and  injustice.  He  felt  that  the  South  had 
been  unjustly  treated  by  the  North,  and  therefore,  he 
sympathized  M^ith  her. 

Mr.  Fisher  was  the  grand-nephew  of  Sir  Philip  Fran- 
cis, the  supposed  author  of  Junius's  Letters.  He  showed 
me,  in  his  city  residence,  a  full  length  portrait  of  Colonel 
Francis,  the  brother  of  Sir  Philip,  who  was,  for  many 
years,  Attorney-General  for  the  Colony  of  Pennsylvania 
under  the  Royal  Government.  It  was  a  grand  picture 
of  a  xery  striking  person.     The  ancestors  of  JNIr.  Fisher 


J.  Francis  Fisher.  279 

were  all  Federalists,  and  devoted  to  Washington  and  his 
administration,  Mr.  Fisher  wa.s  in  favor  of  a  strong 
national  government ;  but  he  was,  nevertheless,  a  bold, 
frank,  and  ardent  lover  of  civil  liberty  and  constitutional 
freedom.  He  did  not  concur,  however,  in  jNIr.  Jeiferson's 
Democracy.  In  passing  by  the  little  old  house  in  Phil- 
adelphia, where  jNIr.  Jefferson  had  written  the  American 
Declaration  of  ludepenence,  he  stopped  me,  and  pointed 
to  the  building,  saying, "  There  is  the  house  in  which  Mr. 
Jefferson  wrote  that  grand  lie,  that  all  men  are  born 
equal."  He  said  some  were  born  to  be  larger,  stronger, 
wiser,  and  more  virtuous  than  others.  Indeed,  he  said, 
some  men  were  born  to  be  great  and  noble,  whilst  others 
were  born  to  be  stupid,  base  and  groveling.  There  was 
no  equalit}'  at  all  in  men,  at  their  birth  or  in  after  life. 
I  suggested  that  Mr.  Jefferson's  notion  was  that  every 
people  as  a  nation,  were  equal,  and  had  the  individual 
right  to  establish  such  government  as  they  saw  proper. 

Mr.  Fisher's  ancestors  were  on  terms  of  great  intimacy 
with  General  Washington  and  liis  family,  whilst  he  was 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  Congress  sat  in  Phil- 
adelphia. I  was  shown  a  part  of  jNIrs.  Washington's 
wedding  dress,  which  Mas  presented  to  ]\Ir.  Fisher's 
mother  by  Mrs.  Washington.  It  was  rich  white  satin, 
but  had  become  a  little  dingy  from  age.  I  saw,  also, 
several  pieces  of  old  china  and  other  relics  which  had 
belonged  to  Washington. 

ISIr.  Fisher  throughout  his  whole  life  eschewed  politi- 
cal life,  and  was  never  a  candidate  for  office,  and  yet  he 
had  studied  politics  as  a  science,  and  wrote  several  j)oliti- 
cal  pamphlets  which  showed  great  wisdom  and  sagacity 
as  a  statesman.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  advocate  and 
explain  the  representation  of  minorities  in  all  elections. 
If  there  were  four  members  of  the  Legislature  to  be 
elected  in  any  county,  he  advocated  the  right  of  each  vo- 
ter to  cast  four  ballots  for  one  candidate,  or  two  for  one 
and  two  for  another,  instead  of  being  required  to  vote 
for    four  candidates.     This  system  of  voting  ha.s  since 


280  J.  Fkancis  Fisher. 

beeu  adopted  in  sonic  of  tlic  Nortlicru  States,  and  should 
be  universal.  Minorities  would  then  be  represented  in 
proportion  to  tlieir  number,  instead  of  having  no  repre- 
sentation at  all,  as  is  now  the  case  in  South  Carolina. 

I  have  said  Mr.  Fislier  lived  like  an  English  noble- 
man. He  had  a  city  residence  in  Pliiladelphia,  where  he 
spent  the  winter.  In  summer  he  lived  on  his  farm  in 
the  country,  where  the  house,  out-buildings  and  grounds 
reminded  one  of  all  the  taste  and  cultivation  of  an  Eng- 
lishman's residence.  His  library  was  filled  with  rare  and 
costly  works.  His  statuary  and  paintings  were  selected 
in  Italy,  and  contained  many  pieces  of  greal  value  and 
rarity  by  the  old  masters.  I  noticed  an  original  painting 
by  Murillo,  and  I  do  not  know  that  there  is  another 
in  the  United  States. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  Mr.  Fisher  was  eminent  as 
a  leader  of  society  in  Philadelphia,  and  a  lover  of  litera- 
ture- But  amidst  all  his  wealth,  taste  and  cultivation, 
he  was  as  simple  and  unassuming  in  his  intercourse  with 
the  world  as  if  he  had  been  the  humblest  of  republican 
citizens.  Whilst  I  was  at  his  house,  he  had  all  his  fam- 
ily present,  sons,  daughters,  and  sons-in-law.  There  was 
nothing  of  the  pretension  or  assumption  of  the  parvenu 
in  his  whole  family.  Mrs.  Fisher  was  a  great  lover  of 
music,  and  said  to  me  that  she  really  did  not  know  what 
she  would  have  done  during  the  war  without  her  music. 
She  was  deeply  distressed  on  account  of  her  relatives  and 
friends  in  South  Carolina. 

After  my  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Fisher,  we  corre- 
sponded for  many  years,  and  until  his  health  became  so 
feeble  that  he  could  no  longer  continue  it.  I  cannot  give 
a  better  idea  of  his  kindness,  high  sense  of  honor,  pa- 
triotism and  wisdom,  than  by  making  extracts  from  his 
letter. 

On  the  26th  of  September,  1866,  he  wrote  me 
that  he  just  returned  from  New  England  "having 
gone  there  to  place  my  eldest  son  at  Harvard 
University,  where  I  graduated  myself,  forty-one  years 


J.  Francis  Fisher.  281 

ago."  After  speaking  of  the  distinguished  Revolutionary 
men  of  South  Carolina,  he  says :  "  All  that  generation 
and  all  that  belonged  to  it,  has  now  passed  away.  Even 
their  homes  are  desolate  and  burnt  ;  their  pictures  de- 
stroyed, their  libraries  robbed,  and  their  descendants 
beggared.  Their  noble  memories  are  all  that  remain  to 
their  descendants,  and  they  never  can  restore  South  Caro- 
lina to  what  it  was.  But  I  trust  in  God,  there  may 
still  be  an  honorable  and  prosperous  future  to  your  gal- 
lant State,  which  has  produced  more  statesmen  of  un- 
sullied honor  than  any  of  the  great  Commonwealths  of 
the  North,  \\'ith  ten  times  her  population.  I  confess 
myself  not  very  hopeful  of  the  future,  and  my  visit  to 
New  England  has  not  raised  my  spirits.  I  found  every 
region  teeming  with  wealth  and  foaming  mth  malignity. 
I  was  at  Boston  while  the  pretended  loyal  Radicals  from 
the  South  were  there.  I  did  not,  however,  come  in 
contact  with  them,  or  attend  their  meetings,  where  men 
who  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  themselves,  with  Butler, 
Banks,  and  such  others,  as  their  leaders,  welcomed  them 
with  all  the  honors  due  to  persecuted  patriots.  I  saw  my 
friends,  Lunt,  Hillard,  Judge  Porter  and  others,  and 
found  them  much  depressed,  feeling,  as  I  do,  cramped 
and  disfraucliised,  almost  silenced  by  the  tyranny  and 
unprincipled  majority,  and  having  no  hope  of  permanent 
change  for  the  better,  whilst  the  present  system  of  election 
subsists." 

I  sent  Mr.  Fisher  an  account  the  parentage  of  President 
Lincoln,  which  I  obtained  from  the  Honorable  Thomas 
L.  Jones,  a  member  of  Congress  from  Kentucky,  and  in 
reply,  he  wrote  me,  October  12th,  1866,  as  follows  :  "I 
thank  you  very  much  for  your  kind  letter  of  the  3d,  and 
its  contents.  I  mean  to  preserve  it  with  other  things  in 
the  hope  that  some  of  these  days  when  the  sad  delusion 
prevalent  is  past,  I  may  be  able  to  make  some  of  my  ac- 
quaintances thoroughly  ashamed  of  themselves  and  of 
their  former  idol.  Dr.  South,  the  famous  wit  of  the 
pulpit,  says  somewhere,  '  when  men  give  themselves  over 


282  J.  Francis  Fisher. 

to  the  defence  of  wicked  interests  and  false  propositions, 
it  is  just  with  God  to  smite  the  great  intellects  with  the 
ti;reatest  infatuations.'  This  has  good  application  now. 
The  result  of  the  late  elections,  though  not  altogether 
contrary  to  my  apprehensions,  has  been  a  very  serious 
blow.  How  far  or  how  long  itwillalfectus,  Icannot  tell. 
Whether  the  President  will  be  impeached,  I  cannot  ven- 
ture to  form  a  prognostication.  The  more  violent  of  his 
enemies  would  do  it.  It  depends  upon  those  interests 
which  Avould  be  setaired  by  domestic  convulsion  to  re- 
strain and  hold  back  the  moderate  men  of  the  Kepublican 
party.  Public  feeling  seems  all  Avrong  and  ready  to  sus- 
tain the  most  violent.  It  will  depend  also  a  great  deal 
upon  the  President  himself,  who,  with  great  abilities, 
seems  to  have  little  prudence.  If  he  had  half  the  tact 
and  cunning  of  his  predecessor,  he  would  now  have 
connuand  of'  both  parties ;  at  least  I  think  so. 

"  I  thank  you  also  for  the  copy  of  the  N^ew  York  Woi'ld 
containing  your  excellent  letter.  What  you  say  of 
slavery  and  the  freed  men  is  very  striking,  and  your  ar- 
raignment of  the  Rump  Congress  most  just  and  forcible. 
But  it  will,  I  fear,  only  be  read  on  one  side,  and  be  ap- 
proved by  those  already  convinced.  *  *  *  'phe 
reception  of  the  bogus  Southerners  has  disgraced  the 
whole  North,  and  the  applause  by  Avhich  their  infamous 
speeches  were  received  is  perfectly  amazing.  I  am  sorry 
to  see  that  our  Governor  elect.  General  Geary,  has  spoken 
in  the  most  malignant  and  bloody  manner  since  his  suc- 
cess. So  that  we  have  very  bad  prospects  in  Pennsylva- 
nia. We  must  wait,  if  we  can,  in  patience,  and  pray  to 
God  to  enlighten  the  minds  of  our  besotted  people.  I 
fear  this  can  only  be  by  some  calamities,  which  will  not 
only  destroy  the  general  pros})erity,  but  end  in  social 
convulsions  of  the  worst  kind." 

November  15th,  1866,  Mr.  Fisher  Avrote  me:  "I  re- 
ceived yesterday  your  letter  to  J\lr.  Woodward,  in  a  copy 
of  the  Greenville  Enterprise,  which  you  so  kindly  sent 
me.     Although  I  had  previously  read  it  in  our  Northern 


J.  Francis  Fisher.  283 

papers,  a  re-perusal  gave  me  still  more  satisfaction.  I 
entirely  agree  with  you  that  the  Southern  States  ought  not 
to  ratify.  Policy  as  well  as  honor  would  counsel  this 
course.  If  you  are  only  firm  and  united,  the  embarrass- 
ment which  you  must  cause  to  the  Radical  party  will 
render  some  compromise  necessary  for  them.  The  very 
violence  and  extreme  measures  of  their  leaders  must  de- 
feat their  own  object,  and  split  their  forces.  The  body  of 
Northern  Republicans  must  be  worse  or  weaker  men  than 
I  take  them  to  be,  to  be  driven  under  party  whip  into 
measures  which  would  be  the  ruin  of  the  country,  North 
and  South.  *  *  *  Jt  seems  to  me  a  compromise 
combining  universal  amnesty  with  impartial  suffrage, 
leaving  the  Southern  States  to  imjDose  what  qualifications 
they  please  on  all  colors,  and  having  representation  on 
population  would  give  you  great  advantage.  For  prop- 
erty, taxes  or  education  as  a  condition  for  voters,  if  it  ex- 
cluded eight- tenths  of  the  negroes,  and  two-tenths  of  the 
lowest  whites,  would  be  a  gain  in  every  respect," 

June  2d,  1867,  I  received  from  Mr.  Fisher  a  very 
long  letter  on  reconstruction.  I  wish  I  could  publish  the 
whole  of  it  without  making  this  article  too  long.  He 
nobly  says  "  It  may  perhaps  be  the  part  of  worldly  wis- 
dom to  accept  the  best  terms  a  conqueror  chooses  to  offer,' 
and  you  may  be  fighting  like  the  Poles  against  destiny,  but 
if  the  appeals  of  affliction  strongly  tempt  you  to  accept 
bread  from  your  oppressors,  let  their  mercy  be  won  by 
non-resistance,  not  by  acquiescence,  and  the  crime  and  the 
shame  will  be  theirs  alone.  The  time  must  surely  come 
\vhen  the  Northern  people  will  repent  of  what  they  have 
done,  but  that  their  repentance  may  bring  its  full  punish- 
ment, let  them  never  have  the  semblance  of  excuse,  which 
they  might  find  in  wlM  would  only  be  a  simulated  ap- 
proval on  your  part.  *  *  *  *  jf  there  be  any 
reliance  on  experience,  any  truth  in  natural  antipathies, 
any  reasonable  pride  in  blood  or  descent,  there  must  arise 
at  the  North  before  long,  a  fearful  revulsion  of  feeling 
against  the  negro.     The  educated  class,  I  think,  will  not 


284  J.  Francis  Fisher. 

boar  to  have  him  in  office,  and  equality  will  be  less  en- 
durable by  the  laborers,  whose  profits  he  will  diminish, 
and  whose  position  degrade." 

I  have  quite  many  other  letters  from  Mr.  Fisher,  from 
which  I  should  like  to  make  extracts ;  but  I  have  given 
enough  to  show  that  he  was  a  most  beautiful  and  accom- 
plished writer,  as  well  as  a  pure  patriot,  wise  statesman, 
and  most  honorable  gentleman.  It  is  refreshing,  in  times 
like  the  present,  to  reproduce  the  sentiments  and  opinions 
of  such  a  man,  and  he  a  Northern  man.  But  gentlemen 
and  patriots  are  the  same  the  world  over. 


WILLIAM  T.  GRAYSON. 

It  is  a  little  remarkable  that  Colonel  Grayson  and 
myself  never  saw  each  other,  although  we  were  warm 
friends,  belonged  to  the  same  political  party,  corresponded 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  lived  in  the  same  State  all  our 
lives.  He  was  born  in  Beaufort,  S.  C,  jS^ovember, 
1788,  graduated  at  the  South  Carolina  College  in  1809, 
and  elected  to  the  State  Legislature  in  1813.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  after  he  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Legislature.  In  1831  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate, 
and  a  member  of  Congress  in  1833.  He  was  aj^pointed 
Collector  of  the  Port  of  Charleston  in  1841,  by  Presi- 
dent Tyler.  In  our  nullification  controversy.  Colonel 
Grayson  held  that  "  the  State  had  power,  under  her  re- 
served rights,  to  determine  when  her  grants  to  the  Fed- 
eral Government  had  been  violated ;  but  he  was  not  dis- 
posed to  push  the  collision  to  the  extreme  of  civil  war." 
He  became  afterwards,  in  his  more  mature  age,  a  decided 
Union  man,  and  opposed  secession  with  zeal  and  ability. 
He  wrote  a  great  many  articles  for  the  newspapers  and 
reviews,  deprecating  disunion  in  very  strong  terms,  and 
pointing  out  the  extreme  folly  of  the  course  South  Caro- 
lina proposed  to  jjursue. 

Colonel  Grayson  was  not  only  a  lawyer  and  statesman, 
but  a  literary  gentleman  and  poet  of  considerable  dis- 
tinction. As  a  beautiful  writer,  he  had  very  few  equals 
in  the  State.  His  style  was  graceftil  and  easy ;  and  in 
argument  he  was  able  and  logical.  He  contributed  a 
great  many  articles  to  the  Southern  Review  and  other 
periodicals.  His  poem  entitled  "The  Hireling  and 
Slave,"  gave  him  a  wide  reputation  at  the  South,  and 


28r)  Wtlliam  T.  Grayson. 

excited  niueh  interest  at  the  time  it  was  published.  He 
coni])ared  the  negro  in  the  Southern  States  with  the 
pauper  laborer  in  Europe,  and  showed  that  the  condition 
of  the  former  was  preferable  to  that  of  the  latter.  He 
also  publislied  an  Indian  tale,  "Chieora,"  and  a  poem 
entitled  *'The  Country."  It  is  also  said  that  he  was  the 
author  of  a  poem  entitled  "Marion,"  which  gave  an  ae- 
coimt  of  the  military  career  of  that  patriot  and  hero. 
Not  long  before  his  death,  he  wrote  the  life  of  his  friend, 
James  L.  Petigru,  for  whom  he  had,  in  common  with 
every  true-hearted  Carolinian,  the  highest  regard.  This 
life  is  well  written,  as  ever}'thing  was  that  came  from  the 
pen  of  William  T.  Grayson.  It  was,  however,  brief,  a  sort 
of  biographical  sketch,  and  made  no  pretensions  to  an 
elaborate  life.  It  was  the  offering  of  an  affectionate  heart 
to  the  memor}^  of  a  valued  and  distinguished  friend.  Col- 
onel Grayson  and  INIr.  Petigru  were  in  college  together, 
and  intimate  friends  through  life.  I  know  that  Mr. 
Petigru  had  for  him  a  very  high  regard,  and  valued  him 
as  a  scholar  and  literary  gentleman. 

I  have  already  said  that  I  never  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  Colonel  Grayson;  but  somehow  or  other  the 
colonel  has  always  been  associated  in  my  mind  as  a  most 
polished,  amiable  gentleman  in  his  manners  and  de- 
portment. I  once  had  the  pleasure  of  making  the  ac- 
quaintance of  a  daughter  of  the  colonel's,  a  lovely  and 
beautiful  young  lady,  then  in  her  teens;  and  the  as- 
sociation of  father  and  daughter,  may  have  had  some 
agency  in  my  estimate  of  his  graceful  character  and 
manners. 

In  1851,  I  wrote  Colonel  Grayson  a  letter  as  to  the 
result  of  the  election  in  Greenville  for  members  of  the 
State  Convention.  In  reply,  he  wrote  me  the  following 
letter,  which,  for  its  beauty  and  truth,  deserves  being 
read  now,  twenty  years  after  it  was  written.  It  will 
give  the  reader  some  idea  of  his  happy  and  graceful  way 
of  expressing  himself  on  all  occasions. 


William  T.  Grayson.  287 

Charleston,  Feb.  17,  1851. 

My  Dear  Sir: — I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  the  13th  in- 
stant, and  congratulate  you  on  the  happy  result  of  the  Greenville 
election.  The  district  stands  like  the  angel  Abdiel  among  the  first 
revolting  spirits  of  misrule,  "  faithful  found  amid  the  faithless." 
Perhaps  it  would  be  more  proper  to  call  our  people  the  thoughtless 
than  the  faithless.  While  the  old,  the  grave,  the  prudent,  stand 
apart,  the  fortunes  of  our  State  seem  to  be  intrusted  to  young  men, 
who  appear  to  be  governed  more  by  vanity  than  any  other  prin- 
ciple, and  who  seem  utterly  incapable  of  forming  an  adequate 
opinion  on  the  true  nature  and  consequences  of  civil  war. 

Our  election  here  was  decided  by  one-fourth  of  the  votes  of  the 
Parishes  of  St.  Piiilip  and  St.  Michael  ;  and  although  the  absence 
of  any  contest  may  have  kept  away  many  persons,  yet  it  is  quite 
certain  that  a  great  many  refused  to  vote  because  they  disapproved 
of  the  whole  proceeding.  It  would  have  been  more  respectful  to 
the  people,  and  a  better  test  of  their  wishes  and  opinions,  to  have 
submitted  the  question  of  Convention  or  no  Convention  to  their 
direct  vote. 

I  am  very  muca  gratified  by  your  assurance  that  I  have  been  in 
any  way  iustrumental  in  aiding  the  cause  of  order  and  law,  and  if  I 
can  assist  you  in  the  great  work  of  which  your  paper  must  be  the 
champion,  it  will  be  most  grateful  to  me. 

With  best  wishes,  your  friend  and  humble  servant. 

B.  F.  Perry,  Esq.  W.  T.  Grayson. 

The  expression  of  Greenville  standing  like  the  angel 
Abdiel  among  the  first  revolting  spirits  of  misrule,  "  faith- 
fnl  found  amid  the  faithless,"  reminds  me  of  an  expres- 
sion of  James  L.  Petigru,  nearly  twenty  years  before 
this  letter  was  written.  The  people  of  Charleston  were 
very  much  excited  by  the  returns  of  the  elections  all  over 
the  State,  on  the  question  of  nullification.  District  after 
district  had  gone  over  to  the  nullifiers.  Mr,  Petigru  was 
disheartened  by  the  news,  and  one  of  his  nullifying 
friends  jeered  him  about  the  result  of  the  election.  He 
remained  silent  a  moment,  as  if  in  meditation,  and  said, 
gravely,  "But  Greenville  seems  to  stand  very  staunch." 
This  was  the  only  consolation  he  had,  and  he  could  not 
forbear  to  mention  it. 

In  1852,  my  friend.  Major  S.  A,  Townes,  thought  of 
Avriting  and  publishing  a  work  entitled  "The  Lives  of 
Distinguished  Carolinians,"  in  which  •  would  appear 
sketches  of  all  the  eminent  men  of  South  Carolina.     He 


288  William  T.  Grayson. 

rocjuestal  me  to  assist  him  iu  prociiriug  lielj3  for  his 
book.  I  wrote  to  Colonel  Grayson,  asking  him  to  write 
the  life  of  William  Lowndes,  whose  congressional  district 
Colonel  Grayson  represented  for  several  years  iu  the 
House  of  Jiepresentatives,  after  the  death  of  Mr. 
Lo^vudes,  and  when  he  declined  a  re-election.  Colonel 
Grayson  was  elected  to  represent  the  district  iu  Congress. 
The  following  letter  was  received  in  reply : 

Charleston,  July  30,  1852. 

My  Dear  Sir: — I  received  your  letter  of  the  25th  inst.,  yester- 
day, with  the  circular  of  Major  Townes.  It  will  give  me  much 
pleasure,  at  all  times,  to  co-operate  with  you  in  anything  in  which 
you  may  take  an  intejest,  and  if  I  can  assist  the  adventures  of 
Major  Townes,  I  shall  not  fail  to  attempt  it.  My  personal  knowl- 
edge of  Mr.  Lowndes  is  very  slight.  I  saw  enough  of  him  on  one 
or  two  occasions  to  be  greatly  impressed  with  the  suavity  of  his  man- 
ners and  the  cliarm  of  his  conversational  talent;  and  on  one  occa- 
sion I  heard  him  speak  in  our  own  Legislature  at  Columbia.  I 
never  heard  him  at  Washington. 

Although  at  college  with  Davis,  or  immediately  before  him,  and 
knowing  liim  therefore  very  early  in  life,  I  was  never  thrown  into 
his  company  afterwards,  until  I  met  him  at  Washington,  in  '33, 
when  he  was  a  member.  At  that  time  his  habits  had  become  very 
unfortunate;  yet,  still  he  retained  all  the  charming  wit  and  bon- 
homie that  made  him  the  universal  favorite  with  all  ages  and  sexes. 
In  the  case  of  Davis,  I  know  no  sources  of  information  from  which 
I  could  derive  the  requisite  knowledge.  There  may  be  persons  in 
Columbia  who  could  give  it.  With  respect  to  Mr.  Lowndes,  I 
think  I  may  be  able  to  procure  from  his  family  everything  neces- 
sary for  a  proper  notice  of  his  life.  I  will,  at  any  rate,  make  the 
attempt. 

There  is  so  much  kind  consideration  in  your  request  respecting 
myself,  that  I  am  at  some  loss  what  to  say.  Certainly  I  should 
never  have  thought  of  taking  rank  among  the  notabilities  of  the 
State,  but  it  is  a  very  liard  matter  for  me  to  refuse  to  do  anything 
that  you  desire  to  have  done,  and  your  friendly  aj^preciation  is 
reputation  in  itself.  If  I  can  put  together  anything  that  I  think 
will  do,  and  you  will  be  thoroughly  satisfied  that  it  is  done 
because  you  wish  it  done,  I  will  send  it  you. 

We  are  in  a  state  of  comfortable  quietude  m  our  low  country 
parishes,  which  contrasts  very  happily  with  the  fuss  and  fury  of 
ihe  last  two  or  three  summers.  The  secession  men  are  taking  a 
long  breath,  and  are,  I  have  no  doubt,  in  their  secret  hearts,  re- 
oiced  at  escaping  the  crime  of  destroying  the  happiest  government 
and  the  best  that  the  world  has  ever  known,  though  they  are  not 
quite  willing  to  confess  their  delusions.     Still,  from  the  swamps,  on 


William  T.  Grayson.  289 

the  fourth  of  July,  there  was  an  occasional  cry,  like  that  of  a  cata- 
mount, which  they  say  resembles  a  child,  just  frequent  enough  to 
show  that  varments  are  still  alive  in  out-of-the-way,  dark  places, 
into  which  it  will  require  some  time  for  the  light  to  penetrate. 

Very  truly  yours. 

W.  T.  Grayson. 
B.  F.  Perry,  Esq. 

It  seems,  from  the  above  letter,  that  I  had  also  re- 
quested Colonel  Graysou  to  write  a  sketch  of  the  Hon. 
Warren  R.  Davis,  and  to  furnish  me  with  the  material 
for  a  sketch  of  himself.  I  remember  reading  Colonel 
Grayson's  letter  to  Major  Towues,  who  was  a  zealous  se- 
cessionist, and  how  heartily  we  laughed  over  the  con- 
cluding sentence.  It  is  indeed  a  remarkable  expres- 
sion, playful  and  sarcastic,  and  shows  how  gracefully 
and  wittily  he  could  express  himself. 


ALFRED  GUMMING. 

I  became  acquaiuted  with  Governor  Gumming  in  1823. 
I  was  then  a  hid  going  to  school  at  Green\alle  Academy, 
and  he  was  a  gay  fast  young  man  of  twenty-one  or  two, 
spending  his  summer  in  Greenville.  I  was  struck  with 
his  fine  person,  handsome  face  and  manly  bearing.  He 
was  a  perfect  athlete  in  form  and  size,  and  might  well 
have  been  a  model  for  an  Apollo.  He  excelled  in  ac- 
tivity and  all  manly  sports.  In  the  latter  part  of  his 
life,  he  became  a  huge  piece  of  obesity,  weighing  three 
or  four  hundred  pounds  !  I  could  scarcely  realize  the 
fact,  when  I  looked  at  him,  that  his  huge,  unwieldly 
person  had  once  been  so  graceful  and  symmetrical  in  all 
its  proportions. 

The  summer  he  spent  in  Greenville,  there  was  an  old 
buildiug  belonging  to  Colonel  Toney,  standing  near 
\vhere  the  new  Court  House  now  is,  which  contained  a 
billiard  table,  a  faro  bank,  whist  tables,  etc.,  which  was 
the  common  resort  of  visitors  from  the  low  country,  and 
all  idlers.  Governor  Gumming  having  nothing  to  do, 
spent  a  good  deal  of  his  time  in  that  building,  which  was 
dubbed  the  War  Office  of  Greenville.  Several  years 
afterwards,  when  I  met  him  again  in  Augusta,  he  told 
me  that  an  incident  occurred  whilst  he  was  in  Greenville, 
which  induced  him  to  forswear  forever  playing  cards. 
The  man  employed  to  keep  the  faro  bank,  which  be- 
longed to  a  Virginia  gambler,  came  to  him  one  morning, 
.and  told  him  that  his  employer  had  treated  him  badly, 
and  he  was  disposed  to  quit  his  service.  But  before  do- 
ing so  he  wished  to  make  something  for  himself.  He 
then  told  Governor  Cummins:  that   the  bank  was  worth 


Alfred  Gumming.  291 

ten  thousand  dollars,  and  if  he  would  agree  to  share 
spoils  with  him,  he  would  let  the  Governor  break  the 
bank  that  night !  Gumming  said  to  him  very  coolly, 
"  I  wish  to  know,  sir,  why  you  have  selected  me,  in  pre- 
ference to  all  others,  who  have  been  playing  at  your 
bank,  to  assist  you  in  this  fraud  ?  Do  you  think  me  the 
most  corrupt  and  unprincipled  of  all  your  patrons  ? " 
"  Not  at  all,"  said  the  fellow.  "  I  make  the  proposition 
to  you,  because  from  your  high  character  and  standing, 
no  one  would  suspect  you.  1  know  that  most  of  those 
who  have  been  playing  at  faro  would  willingly  unite 
with  me,  but  they  might  be  suspected ;  you  would  not." 
Gumming  said  to  him,  "  I  am  now  going  to  the  race- 
course, where  your  emjjloyer  is,  and  shall  tell  him  the 
proposition  you  have  made  to  me  ! "  Thereupon  he  fell 
upon  his  knees  and  besought  Gumming  to  spare  liim  ! 
He  wept  bitterly,  and  said,  "  I  thought  sir,  if  you  did  not 
accept  my  proposition  that  your  generosity  and  magnan- 
imity would  not  permit  you  to  betray  my  confidence." 
The  Governor  thought  to  himself  that  it  was  time  for 
liim  to  forego  cards  and  gambling,  when  his  association 
with  them  had  brought  him  so  low,  as  to  have  so  base  a 
proposition  made  to  him.  He  never  afterwards  gambled 
or  played  cards  with  any  one. 

I  \nsited  Augusta  shortly  after  my  admission  to  the 
Bar,  and  was  a  good  deal  in  company  with  Governor 
Gumming.  We  frequently  rode  out  in  the  suburbs  of 
the  city,  and  practiced  shooting  with  pistols.  Thereupon 
Judge  Longstreet,  who  was,  I  believe,  president  of  an 
anti-dueliug  society,  went  before  a  magistrate,  and  made 
affidavit,  that  I  was  on  the  eve  of  fighting  a  duel,  and 
had  me  arrested.  The  Governor  went  with  me  to  the 
magistrate's  office  and  asked  to  see  the  judge's  affidavit. 
After  reading  it  he  said,  "Swear  me,"  which  was  done. 
He  then  stated  that  the  affidavit  of  Judge  Longstreet 
was  false  in  every  particular,  and  that  it  was  not  the  first 
time  his  Honor  had  taken  such  a  reckless  oath  under 
similar  circiuustances.     The  magistrate  told  him  he  must 


292  Alfred  Gumming. 

not  use  siicli  language  towards  Judge  Longstreet.  He 
promptly  replied,  "  Take  down  my  testimony,  sir,  I  know 
what  I  say." 

Governor  Gumming  was  the  soul  of  honor  and  chiv- 
alry, and  if  there  was  ever  a  man  born  insensible  to  fear, 
he  was.  But  his  courage  was  not  aggressive.  He  had 
too  much  magnanimity  for  that.  When  appointed  Gov- 
ernor of  Utah,  he  left  the  Federal  army,  and  started 
alone  to  take  command  of  the  territory,  which  was  at 
that  time  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States.  General 
Sydney  Johnson  was  marching  on  Utah,  with  a  consid- 
erable force,  to  quell  the  insurrection  of  the  Mormons. 
Gumming  could  not  wait  for  him.  He  told  me  that 
after  traveling  one  bitter,  freezing  day,  he  stopped  all 
alone  in  the  wilderness  to  camp  for  the  night.  In  look- 
ing over  the  few  articles  he  had  with  him,  he  discovered 
that  all  of  his  matches  were  gone,  except  one  !  He  thought 
to  himself  that  perhaps  his  life  depended  on  that  match. 
If  he  did  not  start  a  fire  with  it  he  might  freeze  that 
night  amidst  the  snow  storm.  He  took  great  pains  in 
preparing  his  kindlings,  and  succeeded  in  building  his 
fire. 

The  next  morning  he  was  arrested  by  some  Mormon 
troops  and  carried  before  the  officer  in  command.  When 
asked  who  he  was,  he  replied,  "  Your  Governor,  sir." 
W^ithout  saying  a  word  to  the  officer,  in  explanation,  he 
called  for  pen,  ink  and  paper,  and  commenced  issuing 
his  orders  !  The  officer  was  coufoimded  at  his  audacity. 
Had  he  pursued  a  less  audacious  course,  he  felt  sure  his 
life  would  have  been  taken. 

His  administration  in  Utah  was  wise  and  most  suc- 
cessftil.  He  reconciled  Brigham  Young,  and  all  the 
Latter  Day  Saints,  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  When  he  reached  Salt  Lake,  he  found  that 
Brigham  and  his  followers  had  moved  off,  expecting  the 
Federal  troops  would  punish  them  for  their  disturbances. 
But  he  sent  messages  to  the  Mormon  chief,  which  in- 


Alfred  Gumming.  293 

duced  him  to  retrace  his  steps  and   return   to   the   city. 
The  rebelhon  was  suppressed  without  bloodshed. 

Governor  Cumming's  account  of  the  Mormons  was 
very  favorable  in  some  respects,  and  very  bad  in  others. 
He  said  they  were  very  industrious  and  enterprising,  and 
prosperous  as  a  people.  But  life  was  insecure.  Any  one 
who  offended  was  liable  to  be  assassinated,  and  no  dis- 
covery of  the  assassins  could  possibly  be  made.  He 
seemed  to  think  they  were  happy  in  their  polygamy,  and 
free  from  all  the  licentious  and  demoralizing  influences 
of  cities.  The  chastity  of  their  women  was  above  sus- 
picion. 

For  some  time  previous  to  his  appointment  as  Gover- 
nor of  Utah,  he  had  been  Indian  agent,  and  no  one  ever 
kept  his  accounts  more  correctly.  He  detected  and  ex- 
posed a  great  many  frauds  which  had  been  practiced  on 
the  Indians.  I  saw  him  in  Washington  at  the  inaugura- 
tion of  President  Pierce.  He  was  then  exposing  some 
wrong  which  had  been  perpetrated  by  the  department. 
He  told  me  that  he  called  on  the  President,  and  was  very 
much  excited  in  his  representations,  gesticulating  vio- 
lently, and  the  President  seemed  alarmed  at  his  vehe- 
mence and  uncouth  appearance. 

During  the  prevalence  of  yellow  fever  in  Augusta, 
Governor  Gumming  was  mayor  of  the  city,  and  his  vigi- 
lance and  activity  were  untiring.  In  the  discharge  of 
his  official  duties,  he  had  some  one  arrested  and  im- 
prisoned, who  afterwards  brought  suit  against  him  for 
damages  and  recovered  a  verdict  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 
This  incensed  him  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  determined 
to  leave  the  city  and  never  return.  But  years  after- 
wards, the  City  Council  of  Augusta  paid  the  verdict,  as 
they  should  have  done  immediately  after  the  trial.  Alex- 
ander H.  Stephens  was  the  plaintiff's  lawyer.  During 
the  Confederacy,  Gov.  Gumming  once  alluded  to  his 
suit  in  a  conversation  with  me,  and  spoke  in  high  terms 
of  Stephens  as  a  man  of  honor,  patriotism  and  talents. 


294  Alfred  Gumming. 

I  have  never  met  a  gentleman,  not  even  Mr.  Calhoun, 
M'hose  conversations  were  so  iutcrestino:  and  instructive 
as  those  of  Governor  Cumming  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
life.  He  was  fliuiiliar  with  all  tlie  great  men  of  America, 
and  well  informed  on  every  subject,  historical,  political 
and  scientific.  How  he  had  acquired  so  much  learning 
aud  loiowledge,  was  a  mystery  to  me.  He  did  not  seem 
to  be  studious.  But  he  had  a  gigantic  mind  and  a  w^on- 
derful  memory. 

He  spent  several  summers  at  Greenville,  during  our 
civil  war,  and  most  of  my  leisure  time  w-as  spent  in  his 
company.  He  knew  all  the  prominent  officers  in  both 
armies,  and  gave  me  sketches  of  their  lives  and  charac- 
ters. In  speaking  of  General  Grant,  who  w^as  at  one 
time  his  neighbor,  he  said  he  was  an  amiable,  kind- 
hearted  man  and  a  gentleman.  He  said  when  Grant 
quit  the  army  and  returned  to  Missouri,  his  father-in-law. 
Dent,  told  him  he  must  go  to  w^ork,and  gavelum  a  farm. 
Grant  did  go  to  w^ork  and  w^orked  hard.  He  said  he 
had  frequently  seen  him  hauling  wood  to  market,  cut  by 
himself,  and  that  he  never  felt  the  hand  of  any  one 
which  was  harder  than  Grant's  at  that  time.  He  said 
his  habits  had  been  very  bad  in  the  army  and  he  still 
drank  freely. 

Governor  Cunmiing  was  the  son  of  William  Cum- 
ming, President  of  the  bank  of  Augusta  for  many  years, 
and  a  gentleman  of  ^vealth  and  high  character,  born  in 
Maryland.  He  was  the  brother  of  Colonel  AVilliam 
Cumming,  one  of  the  greatest  men  Georgia  has  ever  pro- 
duced. But  he  never  would  enter  public  life,  and  in  a 
great  measure  buried  his  talents.  He  could  have  been 
elected  Go\'ernor  of  Georgia  aud  United  States  Senator 
if  he  had  consented  to  serve.  He  was  nominated  by 
President  l\)lk  a  major-general  in  the  Mexican  war,  and 
declined  the  position  through  the  highest  sense  of  honor. 
He  was  unwilling  to  take  a  command  over  the  heads  of 
officers  who  iiad  been  all  their  lives  in  the  regular  army. 
At  the  close  of  tiie  war  with   Great   Britain,  in    1815, 


Alfred  Gumming.  295 

Colonel  Cumming  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  offi- 
cers in  the  army.  I  have  heard  distinguished  gentlemen 
say  that  they  remembered  more  striking  expressions  of 
Colonel  William  Cumming  in  conversation  than  any 
great  man  they  had  ever  met. 

Governor  Alfred  Cumming  once  gave  me  a  minute 
account  of  the  difficulties  between  his  brother  William 
and  Governor  McDuffie.  I  had  been  under  the  impres- 
sion that  Colonel  William  Cumming  was  censurable  for 
his  perseverence  in  bringing  on  these  duels,  for  I  believe 
there  were  three  meetings  on  the  field  of  honor.  After 
their  first  meeting,  in  which  Governor  McDuffie  was 
wounded,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Colonel  Benj. 
Elmore,  in  which  he  said  that  Cumming's  honor  was 
easily  satisfied.  This  private  letter  was  published  and 
forced  Col.  Cumming  to  renew  the  challenge.  He  was 
the  proudest  and  most  sensitive  man  to  his  honor  that 
ever  lived,  as  I  have  heard  Judge  Butler  say,  who  was 
Governor  McDuffie's  second  on  one  occasion. 

I  will  mention  a  very  remarkable  fact  told  me  by 
Governor  Cumming.  There  was  in  xiugusta  or  near  the 
city,  an  old  Englishman  who  had  been  teaching  school 
for  a  great  number  of  years.  He  was  taken  ill  and  Cum- 
ming was  sitting  up  with  him  one  night.  Late  in  the 
night  Cumming  was  dozing  in  his  chair,  when  the  old 
man  spoke  to  him  and  "Said,  "  Wake  up,  I  wish  you  to 
see  how  calmly  a  Christian  gentleman  can  die."  Cum- 
ming said  to  him,  "  If  you  are  going  to  die,  I  will  call 
your  wife."  "  No,  no ;  I  wish  to  die  quietly."  He 
folded  his  arms  around  him  and  instantly  took  his  de- 
parture from  this  life.  The  old  man  had,  in  his  younger 
days,  committed  a  great  fraud  in  England,  for  which  he 
fled  to  America  and  changed  his  name.  Many  years 
afterwards,  the  son  of  the  gentleman  whom  he  had  de- 
frauded, came  to  Augusta  and  married  his  daughter, 
without  having  the  slightest  suspicion  that  his  father-in- 
law  was  the  person  who  had  defrauded  his  father. 


29t)  Alfred  Gumming. 

Governor  Cuinniint;-  never  studied  any  profession  or 
engaged  in  politieal  lite.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  ample 
fortune.  In  the  Mexican  war  he  was  an  officer  in  the 
regular  army.  After  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office 
as  Governor  of  Utah,  he  returned  to  AVashington,  during 
the  Confederate  war,  and  was  refased  a  passport  to  the 
South  for  some  time.  At  last,  however,  he  obtained  per- 
mission to  return  to  Georgia.  He  married  a  Boston 
lady  and  a  relative,  as  I  have  understood,  of  John  Quincy 
Adams.  He  left  no  children.  His  wife  died  some  years 
before  him.  She  was  a  most  amiable,  intelligent  and 
accomjilished  lady,  and  the  very  opposite  of  the  Governor 
in  size  and  shape  in  his  latter  years. 

So  remarkable  as  a  talker  was  Governor  Gumming, 
that  General  Thompson,  who  excelled  in  that  line  him- 
self, and  was  a  very  bad  listener,  frequently  came  to  my 
office  during  Cumming's  stay  in  Greenville  and  would 
say,  "  Let  us  go  over  to  the  INIansion  House  and  hear 
Gumming  talk  ?  "  Whilst  I  was  Provisional  Governor 
he  wrote  me  from  Boston,  asking  a  letter  of  introduction 
to  President  Johnson.  I  was  so  cordial  and  compli- 
mentary in  my  letter  that  he  said  he  felt  some  delicacy 
in  presenting  it. 


GENERALWADDYTHOMPSON. 

General  Wadcly  Tliompsou  was  for  many  years  a 
Representative  in  the  United  States  Congress  from  this 
Congressional  district,  composed  of  Greenville,  Anderson 
and  Pickens  connties.  Afterwards  he  became  Minister 
to  Mexico,  nnder  the  administration  of  President  Tyler, 
He  was  the  son  of  Chancellor  Thompson,  of  South  Caro- 
hna,  a  great  man  by  nature,  and  one  of  the  finest  looking 
men  I  ever  saw.  Had  his  great  mind  been  cultivated 
and  imjjroved  as  it  should  have  been.  Chancellor  Thomp- 
son might  have  been  one  of  the  great  men  of  America. 
The  general  was  residing  in  Edgefield  when  I  commenced 
reading  law  at  Greenville.  He  attended  our  courts, 
hoAvever,  and  soon  afterwards  returned  to  Greenville  to 
reside  permanently.  His  kindness  and  cordiality,  his 
talents,  wit  and  humor  and  great  conversational  powers, 
won  my  admiration  and  affectionate  regard.  In  after 
'years  politics  estranged  us  for  some  time.  He  became  a 
warm  partisan  of  nullification  and  a  bitter  opponent  to 
the  Union  party  to  which  I  belonged.  We  were  oj)- 
posing  candidates  for  Congress  in  1835,  and  he  was 
elected.  He  had  been  in  Congress  but  a  short  time 
when  a  schism  occurred  on  the  sub-Treasury  between 
him  and  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  was  then  United  States 
Senator,  and  resided  in  this  Congressional  District.  I 
coincided  in  opinion  with  General  Thompson  on  this 
subject,  and  openly  espoused  his  cause.  I  thought,  too, 
there  was  an  ungenerous  effort  to  put  him  down  for 
daring  to  differ  with  Mr.  Calhoun.  Judge  Whitner  was 
brought  out  against  liis  wishes,  as  the  opposing  candi- 
date of  General    Thompson.     Mr.   Calhoun  took   the 


298  General  Waddy  Thompson. 

stump  and  canvassed  the  Congressional  District  for 
Judge  Wliitnor.  But  with  all  of  his  great  talents,  over- 
shadowing reputation  and  autocratic  power  in  South 
Carolina,  he  })roved  unequal  to  General  Thompson  on 
the  stump.  The  masses  Avere  more  pleased  M'ith  the  wit, 
liumor  and  anecdotes  of  the  General,  than  with  the  dry 
logic  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  The  election  resulted  in  the  de- 
feat of  Judge  Whitner  by  a  very  large  majority.  The 
judge,  too,  Avas  personally  one  of  the  most  popular  men 
in  the  Congressional  District.  He  Avas  an  intimate  per- 
sonal friend,  and  I  AA'as  unfriendly  Avitli  General  Thomp- 
son at  that  time.  I  did  not,  hoAA'CA^er,  hesitate  to  throw 
aside  personal  considerations.  This  renewed  the  friendly 
relations  between  General  Thompson  and  myself,  and  Ave 
continued  CA^er  afterAvards  fast  friends,  entertaining  the 
same  political  views. 

General  Thompson  Avas  a  man  of  rare  talents,  tact  and 
energy  of  character.  As  a  political  electioneerer  he  can 
scarcely  be  said  to  have  had  a  superior.  He  knew 
human  nature  Avell  and  understood  Iioaa^  to  approach 
every  one.  In  Congress  he  Avas  greatly  distinguished  as 
a  ready  debater  and  partisan  leader.  On  the  stump  he 
had  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  anecdotes,  Avhich  he  applied 
most  effectually.  He  said  in  one  of  his  speeches,  that . 
Mr.  Calhoun  could  not  tolerate  any  independence  of 
thought  or  action  AA'itli  his  political  associates  and  friends; 
that  he  Avas  like  an  old  eccentric  friend  of  his  (the 
general's),  Avho  in  draAving  up  the  agreement  betAveen  him 
and  his  overseer,  inserted  this  emphatic  expression: 
"  When  I  say  go,  you  are  to  go ;  when  I  say  trot,  you 
are  to  trot ;  and  Avhen  I  say  run,  you  are  to  run."  If 
General  Thompson  had  dcA^oted  himself  to  his  profession 
he  Avould  haA^e  been  eminently  successful  as  a  laAA'yer. 
He  Avas,  howcA'er,  Avanting  in  that  labor  and  patient  re- 
search Avhich  are  absolutely  necessary  to  success  at  the 
bar.  As  an  adA^ocate  before  the  jury,  he  was  very  able 
and  successful.     His  style  of  speaking  was  rather  con- 


General  Waddy  Thompson.  299 

versatioual,  and  he  disj^layed  very  little  impassioned 
eloquence. 

On  his  retirement  from  public  life,  he  wrote  a  book  on 
Mexico,  Avhich  was  well  received  by  the  pul^lic,  and  had 
an  extensive  sale.  The  intimacy  and  close  friendship 
between  General  Thompson  and  Colonel  William  0. 
Preston,  from  the  time  they  were  in  college  together  to 
the  death  of  Colonel  Preston,  almost  a  half  century,  was 
something  rare  and  beautiful.  Through  all  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  life,  and  all  the  ups  and  downs  in  poHtics^  they 
were  never  for  a  moment  severed  in  feeling. 

General  Thompson  was  employed  for  a  year  or  two 
after  his  return  from  Mexico  in  prosecuting  claims  at 
Washington,  and  received  several  very  large  fees, 
amounting  in  all  to  over  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
One  of  these  claims  was  that  of  Dr.  Gardner,  for  losses 
in  mining  in  Mexico,  which  turned  out  afterwards  to  be 
fraudulent  and  imfounded.  But  General  Thompson 
knew  nothing  of  the  fraud  at  the  time.  The  counsel 
employed,  and  the  court  who  heard  and  allowed  the 
claim,  were  equally  unconscious  of  the  fraud.  I  heard 
Senator  Evans,  of  Maine,  who  was  one  of  the  judges, 
say  that  the  Gardner  claim  was  more  thoroughly  and 
satisfactorily  proven  than  any  claim  before  the  court. 
Colonel  Payne,  of  North  Carolina,  told  me  the  same.  I 
know,  beyond  all  dispute,  that  General  Thompson  had 
not  the  slightest  suspicion  of  the  fraud  till  the  trial  and 
conviction  of  Dr.  Gardner.  I  was  associated  with 
Messrs.  Bradley  and  Carlisle  in  the  defence  of  Gardner, 
and  I  saw  the  whole  correspondence  between  General 
Thompson  and  Gardner  before  the  claim  was  allowed 
and  after  it  was  established  and  Gardner  had  gone  to 
Europe. 

Whilst  in  Washington,  attending  the  trial  of  Dr. 
Gardner,  General  Thompson,  Governor  Hamilton  and 
myself  frequently  visited  the  Misses  Fox,  who  were 
spirit  rap|>ers,  and  witnessed  a  great  many  marvelous 


300  General  Waddy  Thompson. 

revelation.s.  General  Thompson  became  a  firm  believer 
in  tlie  spirits,  and  died  in  that  belief. 

Chancellor  Durgan,  who  was  himself  a  medium  and 
a  firm  believer  in  the  spirits,  came  to  Greenville  some 
years  after  this  to  hold  court.  General  Thompson  car- 
ried him  out  to  his  mountain  home,  and  for  twenty-four 
hours  they  talked  over  spirit  rappings  and  nothing  else, 
as  the  chancellor  afterwards  told  me.  In  the  latter  part 
of  his  life,  General  Thompson  would  entertain  his  friends 
and  visitors  for  hours  and  days  in  telling  them  of  the 
wonderful  intelligence  communicated  to  him  by  the 
spirits. 

Whilst  in  Mexico  General  Thompson  became  very  in- 
timate with  President  Santa  Anna,  and  had  a  high 
opinion  of  his  talents.  On  one  occasion  he  applied  to 
the  President  for  the  release  of  the  Texan  prisoners. 
Santa  Anna  asked  which  of  the  prisoners  he  desired  to 
liave  released.  The  General  replied,  *'A11  of  them,"  and 
further  added,  "I  know  that  you  will  not  refuse  my 
request."  They  were  all  released,  and  among  them 
Samuel  Augustus  Maverick,  a  personal  friend  of  the 
general,  and  since  a  Senator  in  Texas. 

General  Thompson  knew  personally  and  intimately 
most  of  the  great  men  of  America,  and  if  he  had  had  a 
Boswell  to  take  down  his  conversations  in  reference  to 
them,  they  would  have  made  a  most  interesting  book. 
I  frequently  suggested  to  him  that  he  should  occupy  his 
leisure  time  in  writing  reminiscences  of  his  great  con- 
temporaries. 

A  few  years  before  his  death,  General  Thompson 
moved  to  his  plantation  in  Florida.  Whilst  on  a  visit 
to  Tallahassee  he  was  suddenly  taken  ill  and  died ;  but 
not  until  his  wife  had  time  to  reach  his  dying  bed  and 
receive  his  farewell.  Several  years  before  his  death, 
General  Thompson  became  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  and  spent  a  good  portion  of  his  time  in  reading 
and  studying  the  Scriptures.  His  legal  mind  was  con- 
stantly suggesting  difficulties  in  his  reading  the  Old  Tes- 


General  Waddy  Thompson.  301 

tament.  Some  of  these  were  very  amusing.  He  pro- 
pounded to  several  of  the  clergy  a  query,  whether  the 
capacity  of  Noah's  ark  was  sufficient  to  hold  all  the  ani- 
mals that  were  stated  to  have  gone  into  it.  And  then  he 
was  bothered  to  know  how  all  this  multitude  of  animals 
were  fed  during  the  time  they  M^ere  in  the  ark. 

General  Thompson  was  married  twice.  His  first  wife 
was  a  daughter  of  General  Butler  and  sister  of  Judge 
Butler  and  Governor  Butler.  His  second  wife  was  Miss 
Jones,  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Jones,  of  Wilmington, 
North  Carolina,  who  still  survives  with  an  only  child, 
William  Preston  Thompson.  He  has  another  son, 
William  B.  Thompson,  still  living,  by  his  first  wife. 


WARREN  R.  DAVISi 

There  was  no  gentleman  in  South  Carolina,  of  his  day 
and  time,  who  has  left  behind  him  a  more  pleasing  re- 
membrance of  his  graceful  manner,  cordial  feeling,  amia- 
bility of  temper,  wit,  humor,  joyous  hilarity,  and  boon 
companionship,  than  the  Hon.  Warren  Ransom  Davis. 
Chief  Justice  O'lSTeall  says  in  his  "  Bench  and  Bar,"  that 
Mr.  Davis's  life  was  a  "short  and  merry  one."  Indeed 
it  was.  He  died  at  the  age  of  forty-one,  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  and  was  buried  in  the  Congressional  Cem- 
etery. In  the  space  of  his  brief  years  on  earth,  I  will 
venture  to  say  that  Warren  R.  Davis  eujoyed  as  much 
of  the  pleasures  of  life  as  many  others  who  died  at  three 
score  and  ten,  the  allotted  age  of  man.  He  was  a  most 
charming  companion,  admired  in  every  circle  in  which 
he  entered,  from  the  highest  to  the  most  humble.  He 
had  the  rare  faculty  of  makiug  himself  not  only  agree- 
able, but  charming,  to  all  who  approached  him,  whether 
high  born  or  low,  refined  or  rustic,  ladies  or  gentlemen. 
He  was  a  very  handsome  man,  and  a  polished  gentleman. 
I  never  saw  one  who  possessed  more  of  the  suaviter  in 
modo  than  Warren  K.  Davis.  His  talents  by  nature 
were  of  a  high  order.  He  did  not  cultivate  them  as  he 
should  have  done,  or  his  fame  would  have  been  much 
higher,  and  far  diiferent  from  what  it  is.  He  was,  nev- 
ertheless, a  well  educated,  and  well  informed  gentle- 
man, a  good  lawyer,  a  pleasant  speaker,  a  good 
writer,  and  a  beautiful  poet.  His  conversational 
powers  were  remarkable,  and  no  one  ever  became  tired 
in  his  compauy.  I  once  collected,  many  years  ago,  his 
fugitive  poetical  effusions  in  manuscript,  and  published  a 


Warren  R.  Davis.  303 

great  many  of  them  in  a  paper,  which  I  was  then  editing. 
Some  of  them  would  have  done  credit  to  an  y  of  our  most 
distinguished  American  poets.  His  lines  on  "  Johnston's 
wife,  of  Louisiana,"  were  very  beautiful.  She  had  some 
of  the  Inca  blood  in  her  veins,  which  was  beautifully  ' 
alluded  to.  Her  husband  was  Senator  Johnston,  of 
Louisiana,  a  man  of  distinguished  talents  and  reputation. 
Many  years  after  I  saw  this  poetical  address  to  her,  and 
after  the  death  of  Davis,  I  met  her  at  President  Van 
Buren's.  She  was  then  the  wife  of  his  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  I  remember  the  feelings  with  which  I  looked 
at  her,  and  thought  of  poor  Davis's  poetry.  His  address 
to  Miss  Singleton,  as  the  "  Belle  of  the  South,"  was  also 
greatly  admired.  I  was  j)resent  at  a  ball  given  in  Green- 
ville, when  Davis  met  and  danced  with  Miss  Gourdine. 
That  night  he  wrote  some  very  exquisite  stanzas  on 
"  Miss  Anna  Gourdine,"  the  cotillion  and  himself,  which 
he  placed,  the  next  morning,  in  the  hands  of  John 
Crymes,  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of  writing  doggrel 
poetry,  and  requested  him  to  copy  them,  and  pass  them 
oif  as  his  own.  Crymes  went  about  showing  them  as  his 
own  j)roductions,  but  General  Thompson  immediately  de- 
tected the  imposition.  They  were  shown  to  Miss  Gour- 
dine, who  copied  them  into  her  album,  and  valued  them 
very  highly.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  Davis's  poetry, 
which  showed  great  genius,  that  would  not  bear  publi- 
cation. 

Warren  E,.  Davis  was  born  in  1793,  and  died  in  1834. 
He  graduated  in  the  South  Carolina  College,  in  the  class 
of  1810.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1814,  and  set- 
tled at  old  Pendleton,  with  Gov.  INIcDuffie.  But  McDuffie 
soon  left  Pendleton,  and  went  to  Edgefield,  where  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Colonel  Simkins.  Davis  re- 
mained at  Pendleton  and  was  elected  Solicitor  of  the 
W^estern  Circuit  in  1818.  In  1824,  after  two  unsuccess- 
ful attempts,  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  continued  in 
Congress  for  ten  years.  In  1833,  the  delegates  of  the 
Union  party  from    Pickens,  Anderson   and   Greenville 


304  Warren  R.  Davis. 

noniiimtod  inc  a  caiulidate  for  Conj^rcss  in  opposition  to 
Davis,  who  was  an  avowed  disuuionist  and  nullifier. 
The  election  passed  oflF  very  quietly,  and  Davis  was 
elected  by  a  majority  of  sixty  votes,  in  five  or  six  thou- 
sand which  were  polled.  I  was,  at  that  time,  a  very 
young  man,  and  had  not  long  been  admitted  to  the  Bar. 
This  opposition  never  produced  the  slightest  coolness 
between  us,  or  interfered  with  our  social  relations. 

As  solicitor,  Mr.  Davis  was  remarkably  mild  and  len- 
ient. He  seemed  to  make  no  exertions  to  convict.  All 
that  he  did  was  to  present  the  case  fairly  to  the  jury, 
and  explain  the  law  applicable  to  the  testimony.  As  a 
member  of  Congress,  he  became  chairman  of  the  Judiciary 
Committee,  and  made  several  speeches  which  Avere  very 
creditable  to  him.  But  his  position  as  a  social  gentle- 
man was  very  high  in  AVashington  society.  They  were 
all  fond  of  him,  and  loved  him  as  a  boon  companion. 
His  wit  and  humor  and  talent  for  telling  anecdotes  made 
him  acceptable  in  every  society.  Just  before  going  to 
Congress  the  first  time,  he  was  called  upon  by  Mr.  Car- 
son, a  member  of  Congress  from  Buncombe,  North  Caro- 
lina, to  be  his  second  in  a  duel  with  Dr.  Vance,  whom 
he  had  just  turned  out  of  Congress.  It  was  on  that  oc- 
casion that  Mr.  Davis  became  acquainted  with  David 
Crockett,  then  elected  to  Congress.  Crockett  took  a 
great  fancy  to  Davis,  and  begged  that  they  might  sit  to- 
gether and  room  together.  The  first  was  assented  to, 
but  the  latter  rejected  by  Mr.  Davis.  Many  are  the  an- 
ecdotes I  have  heard  Davis  tell  of  Crockett.  He  said 
the  first  time  Colonel  Crockett  spoke  in  the  House,  he 
was  evidently  very  much  scared.  When  he  took  his 
seat,  he  said  to  Davis,  "  It  is  very  strange  that  I  should 
be  afraid  to  speak  here,  when  I  know  I  can  whip  any 
man  in  the  House."  In  writing  home,  Crockett  showed 
one  of  his  letters  to  Davis,  and  asked  him  how  he  liked 
it.  Davis  replied  the  matter  ^vas  very  good,  but  his 
spelling  was  very  bad.  "How  can  I  do  any  better?" 
said  Crockett.     Davis  told  him  to  get  a  dictionary,  and 


Wakren  R.  Davis.  305 

look  lip  the  words.  This  Crockett  did,  and  he  was  de- 
lighted. In  returning  thanks  to  Davis  for  his  sugges- 
tion, he  said  he  thought,  with  that  little  book,  he  could 
beat  any  man  spelling  in  Congress.  Crockett  and  Davis 
went  to  the  circus  one  day  in  Washington,  and  the  col- 
onel was  very  much  struck  with  the  appearance  of  a  large 
baboon  dressed  in  uniform  riding  a  little  pony  in  the 
ring.  After  looking  at  him  for  some  time,  he  said  to 
Davis  he  was  a  damned  good  likeness  of  a  member  of 
Congress,  calling  his  name.  This  member  of  Congress 
happened  to  be  standing  behind  Crockett,  and  heard 
what  he  said.  Davis  whispered  to  Crockett  that  he 
ought  to  apologize  for  his  comparison.  With  the  utmost 
sang  froid,  Crockett  inquired  to  whom  he  should  apolo- 
gize, "the  monkey  or  the  member  of  Congress." 

There  was  an  old  maid  in  society  at  Washington,  who 
took  great  delight  in  cutting  her  wit  at  Davis,  and  thought 
herself  very  successful.  In  order  to  revenge  himself,  . 
Davis  reported  to  some  of  her  lady  friends,  that  he  un- 
derstood this  old  maid  was  engaged  to  be  married  to  the 
Siamese  twins,  who  were  then  on  exhibition  in  the  city. 
This  story  of  Davis's  was  forthwith  told  the  old  maid, 
with  great  glee  by  her  lady  friends.  The  offence  and 
insult  were  unpardonable,  and  the  old  maid  never  after- 
wards recognized  Davis  in  society  or  spoke  of  him  in 
any  way.  On  some  occasion  (which  Davis  used  to  tell 
with  a  sparkling  eye),  a  celebrated  married  lady  who  was 
at  the  head  of  society  in  Washington,  was  riding  on 
horseback  with  Davis,  and  her  shoe-string  came  loose. 
She  asked  Davis  if  he  would  be  kind  enough  to  tie  it  for 
her.  Davis  said  he  knew  the  ribbon  had  to  be  crossed 
somewhere  before  tying,  but  did  not  know  exactly 
where.  Unfortunately  he  crossed  it  above  the  ankle 
rather  high,  whereupon  the  lady,  with  horsewhip  in  hand 
drew  it  across  his  bended  back  whilst  tying  the  string, 
with  such  force  that  he  thought  his  back  was  cut  in 
twain.  He  said  that  he  humbly  entreated  the  lady  to 
excuse  his  awkwardness   and   ignorance  in   performing^ 


306  Warren  R.  Davis. 

this  meuial  office  to  wliicli  he  had  not  been  accustomed. 
So  fond  of  ladies  as  AVarren  E,.  Davis  was,  and  so  fas- 
cinating as  he  was,  it  is  remarkable  that  he  never  mar- 
ried, but  died  an  old  bachelor.  It  is  said  that  he  was 
very  much  enamored  with  MLss  Singleton  at  one  time, 
who  afterwards  married  his  bosom  friend,  Governor  Mc- 
Duffie.  I  remember  once  seeing  Colonel  Singleton,  Mc- 
Duffie  and  Davis  riding  on  horseback  in  Greenville ; 
when  thev  returned  to  the  INIansion  Jlouse,  Colonel  Sin- 
gleton invited  them  to  go  with  him  and  take  tea  at  Wad- 
dell's.  McDuffie  at  once  accepted  the  invitation,  but 
Davis  promptly  declined,  whereupon  Singleton  said  to 
him,  "Come,  go  Davis,  my  family  will  all  be  glad  to  see 
you."  But  Davis  could  not  bear  to  meet  his  old  flame, 
whilst  she  was  being  addressed  by  his  friend. 

On  his  death-bed,  Davis  said  to  his  friend,  Dixon  H. 
Lewis,  who  was  watching  by  his  side,  that  he  wished  to 
"die  gracefully,  and  not  go  out  of  the  world  kicking  like 
an  old  horse."  He  immediately  folded  his  dressing 
gown  around  him,  and  turned  over  in  his  bed.  He  re- 
mained still  for  some  considerable  time,  and  when  his 
friend  looked  at  him  again,  his  spirit  had  departed  from 
this  world.  Mr.  Davis  left  only  one  near  and  dear  rela- 
tion to  mourn  his  death,  his  sister,  Mrs.  John  Ewing 
Callioun,  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  accomplished  and 
lovely  ladies  in  South  Carolina,  and  in  her  younger  days, 
the  belle  of  the  State.  In  the  latter  part  of  her  life,  it 
was  my  good  fortune  to  form  her  acquaintance,  and  share 
the  sincere  friendship  of  this  charming  and  noble  woman. 
I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  seen  Warren  E,.  Da- 
vis, sad,  depressed,  or  out  of  humor,  although  one  might 
have  supposed  there  was  much  in  his  life  to  depress  the 
buoyancy  of  his  spirits.  His  pecuniary  embarassments 
were  annoying,  and  his  habits  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
life  were  very  irregular.  But  no  one  had  more  warm 
and  devoted  friends  up  to  the  last  day  of  his  life,  and 
his  death  was  deeply  and  most  sincerely  regretted  by  all 
who  knew  him. 


RICHARD  YEADON. 

This  gentleman  was  a  uative  of  the  city  of  Charleston, 
and  a  graduate  of  the  South  Carolina  College.  For  many 
years  he  exercised  an  extensive  influence  over  the  State 
of  South  Carolina  and  the  Southern  States  as  editor  of  the 
Charleston  Courier.  He  was  a  most  efficient  and  able 
writer  on  various  subjects.  At  one  time  he  spoke  of  col- 
lecting his  essays,  and  publishing  them  in  two  or  three 
volumes.  Mr.  Yeadon  was  a  hu\yer,  and  stood  deserv- 
edly high  at  the  Charleston  Bar,  a  Bar  always  distmguished 
for  its  learning,  talents  and  eloquence.  His  jn'ofessional 
iucome  was  very  large  from  his  admission  to  the  Bar  till 
the  close  of  his  life.  He  was  one  of  the  most  laborious 
men  I  ever  knew,  and  could  read,  write  and  study  all 
night,  and  in  the  morning  appear  as  fresh  and  bright  as 
if  his  repose  had  not  been  disturbed.  His  preparation  in 
his  cases  in  court  was  minute  and  exhausting.  At  the 
same  time  he  was  writing  for  his  paper  most  elaborate 
editorials.  For  several  years,  he  was  a  distinguished  and 
useful  member  of  the  Legislature.  In  the  discharge  of 
his  duties  in  the  House  and  on  committees,  he  was  prompt, 
diligent  and  laborious. 

Mr.  Yeadon  commenced  life  poor,  and  by  liis  honest 
industry  and  devotion  to  his  profession  and  newspaper 
he  had  accumulated  before  the  Nvar  an  estate  Avorth  three 
or  four  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Whilst  staying  at  his 
house  during  the  Commercial  Convention  in  Charleston, 
many  years  before  the  war,  he  showed  me  his  income  re- 
ceipts, which  then  amounted  to  nearly  thirty  thousand 
dollars  annually.     They  were  largely  increas(>d  after  that 


308  Richard  Yeadon. 

time.  But  the  war  came,  and  two-thirds  of  his  estate 
were  lost.  The  wreck  of  his  fortune  though  at  his  death, 
when  collected,  realized  one  hundred  and  twenty  or  thirty 
thousand  dollars.  He  left  no  child  to  inherit  his  name 
and  fortune.  His  adopted  son  and  nephew  who  took  his 
name,  was  killed  during  the  war.  But  notwithstanding 
this  large  accumulation  of  fortune,  Mr,  Yeadon  was  a 
most  generous,  charitable  and  liberal  gentleman  through- 
out lite.  He  gave  on  all  occasions  with  a  liberal  hand, 
where  duty  required.  To  his  relations  he  was  extremely 
kind,  and  shared  with  them  his  princely  fortune.  At  his 
own  expense  he  went  to  Boston  and  brought  home  the 
remains  of  his  distinguished  friend,  Hugh  S.  Legare. 
He  performed,  in  part,  the  same  service  to  those  of 
Preston  S.  Brooks,  During  the  war,  he  uniformed  and 
fitted  out  a  handsome  and  gallant  company  of  Infantry, 
which  assumed  the  name  of  the  Yeadon  Guards,  After 
the  infamous  conduct  of  General  Butler,  at  New  Orleans, 
and  his  atrocious  insult  to  the  ladies  of  the  Crescent  City, 
he  offered  a  reward  of  ten  thousand  dollars  for  Butler's 
head.  When  one  of  his  nieces  was  married,  he  presented 
her  with  a  house  and  lot  in  Charleston,  worth  eight  or 
ten  thousand  dollars. 

Mr,  Yeadon's  hospitality  was  unbounded.  Many  of 
his  friends  and  acquaintances  made  his  house  their  home 
whilst  in  town.  His  entertainments  were  frequent,  ex- 
tensive and  elegant.  I  have,  on  several  occasions,  shared 
them,  and  know  how  handsome  and  agreeable  they  were. 
Mr.  Yeadon  was  a  very  pleasant  and  joyous  companion 
when  not  depressed  in  spirits  and  feelings.  But  he  was, 
unfortunately,  subject  to  spells  of  melancholy  and  de- 
spondency without  any  cause  whatever.  It  was  said  of  him, 
with  a  great  deal  of  truth,  that  "he  was  always  in  the  garret 
or  cellar,"  excited  or  gloomy.  In  some  of  his  ecstatic 
moods,  he  was  almost  in  a  frensy  of  joy  and  happiness. 
I  remember  once  in  Columbia,  after  the  adjournment  of 
the  Legislature,  and  as  he  was  about  leaving  for  Charles- 


Richard  Yeadon.  309 

ton,  he  came  rushing  into  my  bedroom  before  day,  saying, 
"  Good-bye,  Perry,  you  are  a  man  after  my  own  heart ;  I 
love  you."  Without  waiting  for  a  word  of  reply,  he 
caught  my  hand,  and  darted  out  of  the  room.  It  was  in 
one  of  these  moods,  whilst  traveling  North,  he  commenced 
a  conversation  in  the  railroad  cars  with  an  abolitionist, 
who  gave  some  of  his  assertions  about  slavery  the  lie. 
Thereupon  Yeadon  caught  him  by  the  nape  of  the  neck 
and  pommeled  him  handsomely.  Before  the  cars  stopped, 
he  was  writing  an  account  of  his  feat  to  the  Charleston 
Courier.  The  election  at  that  time  was  going  on  in 
Charleston,  and  Yeadon  headed  the  ticket.  This  de- 
lighted him  very  much.  Col.  Seymour  was  the  last 
member  elected  on  the  ticket.  He  and  Yeadon  roomed 
together,  and  in  cutting  their  wit  at  each  other,  Yeadon 
used  to  call  him  his  tail.  Nothing  delighted  Yeadon 
more  than  a  pun.  I  once  said  he  was  "my  Mentor."  He 
was  pleased  with  the  expression,  and  afterwards  intro- 
duced me  to  Mrs.  LeConte  as  his  "  Telemachus."  There- 
upon Mrs.  LeConte  said  your  "tall  amicus."  This  pun 
was  treasured  up  by  him,  and  repeated  often  in  my  pres- 
ence. Whilst  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  he  kept 
house  one  or  two  sessions,  and  every  day  had  a  party  of 
friends  to  dine  with  him.  On  one  occasion,  after  the 
cloth  was  removed,  and  the  wines  were  in  free  circulation, 
Mr.  Yeadon  struck  the  table  with  the  handle  of  his  knife 
to  call  the  attention  of  his  guests,  and  said  that  he  had  a 
curious  document  to  read  them,  which  was  written  by 
his  friend  Perry,  ten  or  twelve  years  previously.  My 
curiosity  was  somewhat  excited  to  know  what  it  was. 
He  then  prefaced  by  saying,  that  a  chent  of  his  was  once 
in  Greenville,  and  employed  me  to  transact  some  law 
business  there.  The  client's  wife  having  died  before  the 
business  was  perfected,  he  had  to  employ  him  to  do  the 
business  over  again,  for  which  he  charged  him  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars.  The  client  complained  of  his 
charge,  and  exhibited  a  receipt  of  mine  for  precisely  the 


310  RiCHAHi)  Ykadon. 

same  services.  After  receivin<>;  liis  fee  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars,  he  begged  his  client  forthe  reeei^^t  I  had 
given  him  for  the  same  services.  My  receipt  stated 
minntelv  mv  charge,  which  amounted  to  ten  dollars,  all 
told. 

I  was  once  dining  with  Mr,  Yeadon  at  Mr.  Poinsett's, 
when  Yeadon  with  great  feeling  remarked  that  his  great- 
est mortification  in  life  was  that  his  political  principles 
and  judgment,  as  to  the  tnie  interests  of  South  Carolina, 
had  always  thrown  him  in  opposition  to  what  seemed  the 
public  sentiment  of  the  State.  He  loved  his  State  as 
much  as  any  of  her  sons,  and  would  sacrifice  himself  for 
her  as  quickly  as  any  one.  And  yet,  all  his  life,  he  had 
been  taunted  as  a  sort  of  traitor  to  the  land  of  his  birth, 
when  he  knew  and  felt  that  his  love  for  South  Carolina 
had  alone  urged  him  to  pursue  the  policy  he  did.  In 
1850  and  1851,  the  political  excitement  in  South  Carolina 
in  favor  of  secession  and  disunion,  became  so  violent  and 
overwhelming  that  every  newspaper  in  the  State  yielded 
to  the  popular  storm,  and  the  Charleston  Courier 
amongst  them.  I  was  greatly  chagrined  and  mortified 
when  I  saw  this,  and  wrote  my  friend  Yeadon  in  refer- 
ence to  the  tumbling  and  fall  of  the  Courier.  It  distressed 
him  beyond  measure.  The  proprietors  of  the  Charleston 
Courier  determined  to  direct  its  future  course,  and  save 
its  patronage.  J\lr.  Yeadon  was  not  responsible  for  its 
somersault.  This  muzzling  the  press  and  silencing  all 
opposition  to  the  revolutionary  movement  of  the  State  by 
a  system  of  terrorism  determined  a  few  gentlemen  in 
Greenville  to  start  a  Union  paper  and  l)id  defiance  to  the 
storm.  Jn  a  lew  mouths  it  was  manifest  that  thousands 
of  the  best  and  most  intelligent  men  of  the  State  sympa- 
thized with  the  movement  in  Greenville,  and  at  the  fall 
elections  it  was  ascertained  that  a  lai'ge  majority  of  the 
State  was  opposed  to  separate  secession. 

Judge  Porter,  of  Alabama,  once  wrote  a  biographical 
sketch  of  Mr.  Yeadon,  which  was  published  in  a  New 


Richard  Yeadon.  311 

York  monthly.  A  copy  of  this  sketch  was  sent  me,  and 
a  short  time  before  his  death,  Mr.  Yeadon  wrote  to  me 
for  the  loan  of  it,  and  stated  that  his  own  copy  had  been 
lost  in  the  robbery  of  his  house  by  Federal  troops.  I 
was  not  able  to  find  it,  and  have  not  found  it  since.  This 
I  regret  very  much,  as  it  would  have  enabled  me  to  make 
the  present  sketch  more  full  and  satisfactory. 

Mr.  Y'eadon  was  a  poet  as  well  as  a  lawyer,  editor, 
statesman  and  patriot.  I  cannot  say  much  in  praise  of 
his  poetry,  except  that  it  was  humorous  and  witty.  I 
remember  one  day,  whilst  staying  at  his  house,  he  carried 
three  or  four  young  ladies  from  Virginia,  to  ride  in  his 
carriage  to  the  cemetery  and  other  places,  and  greatly 
amused  them,  all  the  time,  by  reading  his  poetical  eflfu^ 
sions.  On  his  death-bed,  his  friend  and  relative,  Rev. 
General  Ellison  Capers,  besought  him  to  join  the  church 
and  take  the  communion.  He  replied  with  that  frank- 
ness and  firm  sincerity  which  characterized  every  act  of 
his  life,  that,  although  a  believer  in  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity, he  had  not  seen  proper  to  join  church  in  life  and 
health,  and  if  he  did  so  now,  it  would  be  attributed  to 
improper  motives. 

Mr.  Yeadon  left  his  entire  estate,  at  his  death,  to  his 
devoted,  amiable  and  most  excellent  wife,  who  belonged 
to  a  collateral  branch  of  General  Francis  Marion's  fam- 
ily. I  once  read  the  will  of  a  citizen  in  Virginia,  who 
gave  his  fortune  entire  to  his  wife,  to  dispose  of  as  she 
pleased.  He  had  children,  and  she  was  young  enough 
to  have  married  again.  Some  one  afterwards  inquired  of 
me  as  to  his  character  and  standing.  I  replied  that  I 
knew  nothing  of  him,  but  that  his  last  will  and  testament 
proved  to  my  satisfaction,  that  he  was  a  high-minded, 
honorable  and  confiding  gentleman.  Instead  of  settling 
his  estate  on  his  children,  with  limitations,  and  providing 
in  case  his  wife  married  again,  etc.,  etc.,  he  gave  the 
whole  of  it  to  her,  knowing  that  she  would  deal  Justly 
with  it  and  their  children.     And  I  should  have  the  same 


312  Richard  Yeadon. 

conviction  about  Mr.  Yeiidon's  w\W,  if  he  had  l)een  un- 
known to  mo.  Ini mediately  after  liis  death,  Mrs.  Yea- 
don executed  her  will,  and  gave  the  larger  portion  of  the 
property  to  liis  relations,  showing  that  her  husband's  con- 
fidence, the  confidence  of  a  noble  and  generous  heart,  was 
not  misplaced. 

This  humble  tribute  I  pay  to  the  memory  of  as  true  a 
friend,  for  forty  years,  as  man  ever  had.  I  only  wish  it 
were  more  worthily  done. 


WILLIAM  L  YANCEY. 

William  L.  Yancey  was,  for  several  years,  a  citizen 
of  Greenville,  lived  here,  married  here,  and  owned  the 
farm  where  William  Bates  now  lives.  He  was  the  son 
of  Benjamin  Yancey,  who  stood  for  many  years  at  the 
head  of  the  bar  in  the  upper  part  of  South  Carolina. 
He  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  the  protege  of  Robert 
Goodloe  Harjjer.  He  first  entered  the  nav}^,  and  then 
read  law,  and  settled  at  Abbeville  Court  House.  He 
married  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Byrd,  of  Georgia,  who 
had  removed  there  from  Virginia.  Benjamin  Yancey 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from  Abbeville, 
and  took  a  very  high  position  in  that  body.  Although 
very  young,  he  came  "within  a  few  votes  of  being  elected 
a  judge  of  the  State.  His  talents,  eloquence  and  high 
character  induced  Judge  Huger,  who  was  then  a  member 
of  the  House  and  practicing  law  in  Charleston,  to  offer 
him  a  partnership,  which  he  accepted  and  moved  to 
Charleston.  Judge  Huger  was  very  much  attached  to 
him,  and  had  a  very  high  opinion  of  his  talents  and 
ability.  Many  years  after  the  death  of  Benjamin 
Yancey,  Judge  Huger  was  holding  court  at  Abbeville, 
and  asked  me  to  take  a  walk  with  him.  We  came  to  a 
little  brick  office,  then  occupied  by  Governor  Noble  and 
Judge  Wardlaw.  Judge  Huger  stopped  and  looked  at 
it  with  great  interest  and  said  to  me,  "  That  was  the 
office  of  my  lamented  friend  and  partner,  Benjamin 
Yancey,  before  his  removal  to  Charleston."  He  then 
spoke  in  most  affectionate  terms  of  him,  and  gave  me  an 
account  of  his  meeting  him  in  the  Legislature,  and  how 
much  he   was  impressed  with  him.     Not  many  years 


314  WiLi-FAM  L.  Yancey. 

after  liis  ivnioval  to  (liarlestou,  Mr.  Yaucey  cliod  on  his 
way  to  Abbcnillc  court,  to  attend  to  a  great  land  case, 
which  was  then  ready  for  trial.  I  have  heard  Chancellor 
Tlionipson  and  many  others,  who  Averc  contemporaries 
of  Yancey,  s])cak  in  most  extravagant  terms  of  his  eiforts 
at  the  bar  and  in  the  I^egislatnre. 

Some  years  after  tlic  death  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Yancey, 
liis  widow  married  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bceman,  a  distin- 
gnished  Presb}i;crian  minister  from  the  North,  who  was 
then  living  in  A\^ashington,  Georgia.  He  returned  to  the 
North  and  carried  with  him  his  wife  and  his  step- 
children. William  L.  Yancey  was  there  educated,  till 
he  was  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  old,  a\  hen  he  returned 
to  South  Carolina  to  make  his  permanent  home,  though 
Georgia  has  the  honor  of  being  his  birth-j:)lace. 

This  gentleman  is  justly  entitled  to  the  distinction,  no 
matter  in  what  light  that  distinction  may  be  viewed  by 
the  world,  of  having  broken  up,  for  a  brief  period,  the 
American  Union,  and  involved  the  country  in  a  great 
sectional  war,  which  cost  the  sacrifice  of  one  million  of 
human  lives,  the  desolation  of  the  Soutliern  States,  their 
loss  of  civil  liberty,  and  the  establishment  of  a  military 
despotism !  Tliere  may  have  been  others  who  labored 
longer  and  more  eifectually  to  prepare  the  public  mind 
for  tliis  terrible  result,  but  to  William  Lowndes  Yancey 
is  due  the  awful  responsibility  of  having  applied  the 
match  which  produced  this  bloody  explosion  !  He  con- 
cocted the  Alabama  Resolutions  which  broke  up  the 
Charleston  Democratic  C'onvention,  and  severed  into  fac- 
tions the  great  Democratic  party  of  tlie  United  States  ! 
This  secured  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  by  a 
minority  sectional  vote,  and  the  secession  of  South  Caro- 
lina, which  was  immediately  followed  by  that  of  the 
other  States !  The  war  ensued  with  all  its  horrible 
results ! 

Mr.  Yancey  read  law  in  my  office  two  or  three  years, 
and  we  were  for  a  much  longer  period  on  terms  of  great 
intimacy.     I  knew  him  well  and   loved  him  most  aflPec- 


William  L.  Yancey.  315 

tionately.  He  had  many  rare  aud  noble  qualities  of 
both  head  and  heart.  He  was  full  of  genius  and  talent, 
and  endowed  with  high  gifts  of  oratory.  In  disposition 
he  was  kind  and  affectionate,  warm  and  generous,  and 
devoted  to  his  friends.  He  was  a  veiy  handsome  young 
man,  with  a  bright  cheerful  face,  ever  inspiring  confi- 
dence and  good  feeling.  He  was  rather  under  ordinary 
height  and  well  proportioned,  with  great  acti\dty  and 
strength.  His  manners  were  not  only  pleasing  and 
polished,  but  really  fascinating,  and  no  one  could  be  in 
comj)any  with  him  without  feeling  kindly  towards  him; 
but  with  all  his  talents,  attractions  and  brilliancy,  he 
Avas  not  a  man  of  wisdom,  or  judgment,  or  stability  of 
character.  He  had  strong  feelings  and  impulses,  which 
generally  controlled  his  action  and  judgment.  He  was 
a  man  of  high  spirit  and  dauntless  courage.  His  im- 
pulses and  his  passion  involved  him  in  a  great  many 
difficulties  of  a  veiy  serious  character.  I  remember,  on 
one  occasion,  whilst  he  was  reading  law  with,  me,  having 
to  rush  between  him  and  Thomas  F.  Gantt  to  prevent 
their  firing  on  each  other.  They  had  commenced  a 
political  discussion,  which  did  not  continue  long  before 
they  drew  their  pistols,  and  but  for  the  interference  of 
myself  and  others,  would  have  exchanged  shots  in  the 
street !  In  a  quarrel  with  Dr.  Earle,  the  uncle  of  his 
wife,  he  drew  his  pistol  and  shot  him.  The  doctor  died 
in  a  few  hours.  Yancey  was  tried  and  convicted  of 
manslaughter. 

In  this  affair,  however,  he  did  what  few  men  of  spirit 
might  not  have  done,  under  the  circumstances.  The 
day  previous  he  had  had  a  difficulty  with  Dr.  Earle's 
son,  who  was  quite  a  lad.  Y^ancey  sought  the  doctor 
and  explained  to  him  the  difficulty  with  his  son,  who 
seemed  to  be  perfectly  satisfied.  The  next  day  he  was 
inquiring  for  Yancey  with  a  bludgeon  in  his  hands. 
Yancey  went  up  to  him  in  perfect  good  humor  and 
anticipated  no  difficulty.  He  gave  Y^ancey  the  lie  and 
drew  his  stick.     Immediately  Y^'ancey  drew  his  pistol, 


316  William  L.  Yancey. 

and  presenting  it,  told  the  doctor  to  "  take  it  back  or 
take  a  shot."  Dr.  Earle  rushed  towards  him  and 
Yancey's  pistol  fired  !  But  Yancey  assured  me,  confi- 
dentially, that  it  Avas  not  his  purpose  to  fire  the  pistol; 
and  that  he  did  fire  it  involuntarily  under  the  excite- 
ment. He  afterwards  made  affidavit  to  this  fact,  and  I 
have  never  for  a  moment  doubted  the  truth  of  the  asser- 
tion. He  was  defended  by  Judge  Wardlaw,  Mr.  Burt 
and  myself.  His  sentence  was  fine  and  imprisonment, 
which  Governor  Noble  pardoned  in  a  few  weeks. 

Whilst  in  Greenville,  Mr.  Yancey  was  editing  a  Union 
newspaper  and  reading  law.  He  was  then  a  very  strong 
Union  man,  and  dealt  out  to  the  nullifiers  and  seces- 
sionists some  terrible  blows,  for  their  disunion  procHvities. 
Little  did  I  then  think  he  was  destined  to  blow  up  the 
Union  himself  in  the  course  of  a  few  years !  How  hard 
it  is  to  anticipate  the  fliture  in  politics.  He  wrote  with 
great  vigor,  and  held  a  bold,  dashing  pen.  After  his 
marriage  to  Miss  Earle,  he  moved  to  Alabama,  and  was 
there  some  time  occupied  in  editing  a  new^spaper.  He 
was  soon  elected  to  the  Legislature,  failed  in  planting, 
and  commenced  the  profession  of  law.  In  a  few  years 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress,  and  fought  a  duel 
with  General  Clingman  pretty  soon  after  taking  his 
seat  in  the  House  of  Bepresentatives.  He  made  a  speech, 
too,  about  the  same  time,  w^hich  attracted  great  public 
attention.  In  two  or  three  years  he  resigned  his  seat  in 
Congress,  joined  the  church,  and  resumed  his  profession. 

The  spirit  of  abolitionism  was  growing  at  the  North, 
and  disunionism  ripening  at  the  South.  Yancey  was 
one  of  those  fiery  spirits  who  could  not  witness  an  ex- 
citement without  enlisting  on  one  side  or  the  other ;  and, 
having  once  girded  on  his  sword,  he  plunged  in  for  the 
war.  He  ciinvassed  Alabama,  and  went  North  to  make 
speeches.  He  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  a  revolu- 
tionary feeling,  and  boasted  that  the  Cotton  States  would 
be  precipitated  into  war  with  the  North.  He  was  sent 
as  a  commissioner  to  Europe  in  the  early  history  of  the 


William  L.  Yancey.  317 

Confederacy,  and  returned  without  accomplishing  any- 
thing. He  was  then  elected  Confederate  Senator  from 
Alabama,  and  died  before  the  close  of  the  war.  In  the 
Confederate  Senate  he  was  a  ver}'  prominent  member  ; 
took  an  active  and  able  part  in  all  the  discussions  of  that 
body,  but  his  judgment  and  opinions  were  not  appre- 
ciated very  highly. 

The  course  pursued  by  Mr.  Yancey  in  the  Demo- 
cratic Convention  alienated  me  from  him  in  some  meas- 
ure, and  when  he  visited  Greenville  during  the  war,  I 
was  glad  not  to  have  met  him.  The  meeting  would 
have  been  unpleasant  to  me,  and,  perhaps,  also  to  him. 
He  died  a  young  man. 


WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD. 

I  have  uever  seen  a  more  perfect  politician  thau  AVil- 
liain  H.  Seward.  But  he  is  greatly  more  aud  higlier  than 
a  mere  politician.  He  is  a  statesman  of  the  first  order  of 
intellect  aud  attainments.  He  possesses  a  great  mind,  and 
is  capable  of  grasping  great  national  questions.  As  a 
statesman,  he  may  see,  and  does  see,  every  question  in  its 
true  light  and  bearing,  but  as  a  politician,  most  dexterous 
and  adroit,  well  skilled  in  human  nature  and  the  jjractical 
affiairs  of  the  world,  he  may  see,  and  will  see  the  same 
question  in  a  ver}^  diflPerent  light.  He  is  a  tall,  spare 
man,  with  a  long  face  and  nose,  and  a  head  not  very  re- 
markable.    His  manners  are  free  and  easy  and  cordial. 

AVhen  I  first  met  ]\Ir.  Se^vard,  afl;er  the  war  was  over, 
I  had  just  left  the  Attorney-General,  iSIr.  Speed,  who 
complained  to  me,  in  very  unkind  terms,  of  a  speech  I 
had  made  a  few  days  previously.  I  mentioned  the  fact 
to  jVIr.  Se^vard.  He  replied  that  he  himself  had  just  read 
my  speech  carefully,  and  that  he  thought  it  a  very  good 
speech,  considering  the  stand-point  from  which  I  made 
it.  "  You  spoke,"  said  he,  "  for  South  Carolina,  aud  not 
for  the  Northern  people.  AVhen  I  was  Governor  of  j^ew 
York,  I  made  speeches  which  were  severely  criticised  in 
Charleston,  but  I  said,  what  the  devil  have  the  people  of 
Charleston  to  do  with  my  speeches  ?  They  were  made 
for  New  York,  and  not  for  South  Carolina."  Mr.  Sew- 
ard is  fond  of  a  joke,  and  has  a  great  deal  of  wit  and 
humor.  He  likes  to  tell  a  story  on  himself  as  well  as 
others.  He  told  me  of  meeting,  many  years  ago,  a  gen- 
tleman from  South  Carolina,  at  the  Virginia  Springs, 
who  indulged  very   freely   in  the  abuse  of  Martin  Van 


William  H.  Seward.  319 

Buren.  "This,"  said  Mr,  Seward,  "I  enjoyed  very 
heartily,  and  found  my  companion  a  good  Whig.  I 
thought  then,  as  he  had  been  abusing  '  the  great  man  of 
New  York,'  much  to  my  satisfaction,  I  would  gratify 
him,  as  a  brother  Whig,  in  the  same  way — by  abusing 
Mr.  Calhoun  a  Uttle,  '  the  great  man  of  South  Carolina.' 
but,  to  my  surprise,  he  instantly  flew  into  a  great  passion, 
and  swore  that  no  man  should  abuse  ]\Ir.  Calhoun  in  his 
presence.  I  began  to  tliink  that  I  should  have  to  fight 
the  fellow  before  I  got  a^ay  from  the  Springs." 

Whilst  acting  as  Provisional  Governor,  I  wrote  Mr. 
Seward,  complaining  in  veiy  strong  terms,  of  the  conduct 
of  the  negro  troops  in  South  Carolina.  He  replied  that 
he  knew  it  was  very  oflPensive  to  the  people  of  South 
Carolina,  to  see  their  former  slaves  stationed  amongst 
them  as  soldiers ;  but  that,  according  to  the  army  regu- 
lations, no  difference  could  be  made  amongst  the  troops 
on  account  of  color.  I  replied  that  we  did  not  object  to 
the  color  of  the  Federal  troops  so  much  as  to  their  atro- 
cious conduct.  He  then  wrote  me  that  as  soon  as  South 
Carolina  organized  her  State  Government,  all  the  Federal 
troops  should  be  withdrawn.  Unfortunately  this  promise 
was  not  kept,  but  ISIr.  Seward  is  not  to  blame.  He  was 
utterly  opposed  to  the  Congressional  policy  pursued  to- 
wards the  Southern  States.  He  is  too  great  a  statesman 
to  have  continued  such  despotism  and  oppression.  I  re- 
member receiving  a  letter  from  Governor  Hammond,  of 
South  Carolina,  shortly  afler  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  in  which  he  stated  that  Mr.  Seward 
was  the  only  Senator  from  the  North  who  was  really  and 
truly  a  statesman,  and  had  thoroughly  educated  himself 
as  such  by  study  and  reflection. 

When  I  first  saw  Mr.  Seward,  he  was  just  recovering 
from  his  wounds,  inflicted  by  the  assassin,  at  the  time  of 
President  Lincoln's  murder.  He  had  not  long  previously 
lost  his  wife.  I  wished  some  paper  prepared  the  next 
day.  He  said,  •'  Xo,  I  must  go  to  church  to-morrow,  for 
I  have  not  been  since  my  wife's  deiitli."     Thiuking  he 


320  William  H.  Seward. 

had  mistaken  tlic  day  of  the  week,  I  said  to  him;  "Do 
you  go  to  church  on  Saturday?"  "Oh  no,"  he  re- 
plied, "  I  thought  to-morrow  was  Sunday."  Mr.  Seward 
was  once  a  school  tcaciher  in  Georgia,  and  he,  good  hu- 
moredly,  inquired  of  a  delegation  from  that  State,  wlio 
called  to  see  him,  whether  any  of  his  pupils  were  amongst 
them.  Mr.  Seward  expected  the  nomination  of  the  lie- 
publican  party  for  President,  at  the  time  it  w^as  given  to 
Abraham  Lincoln.  But  being  appointed  Secretary  of  the 
State,  under  Mr.  Lincoln,  he  was  in  fact,  from  his  superior 
statesmanship,  the  President.  He  w^as  continued  in  office 
by  President  Johnson,  and  he  has  managed  the  State 
Department  for  the  last  eight  years  with  consummate 
ability.  Recently  he  has  made  purchases  of  territory  for 
the  United  States,  from  Russia  and  Denmark,  which 
shows  an  enlarged  statesmanship.  In  a  speech  he  made 
nine  or  ten  years  since,  he  assumed  the  bold  ground  that 
the  United  State  must  have  Canada  and  Mexico  before 
the  measure  of  her  ambition  was  filled.  Like  most  of  our 
great  statesmen  in  the  last  half  century — Clay,  Calhoun, 
Webster,  Douglass,  and  others — Mr.  Sew^ard  will  never 
probably  reach  the  Presidency.  The  chief  magistrate  of 
this  great  Republic,  it  seems,  is  not  to  be  filled  again  by 
the  first  statesmen  of  the  country.  Men  of  inferior  in- 
tellect, who  have  not  made  themselves  prominent  by 
originating  any  great  measure,  are  considered  more  avail- 
able in  a  Presidential  race.  They  have  less  w^cight  to 
carry. 


INDEX- 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  President,  .  .  .  .21 

Adams,  Jas.   H.,  Governor,  .  .  .  .  .  153 


Barnwell,  Robert  W.,  U.  S.  Senator,  .124 

Butler,  Andrew  P.,  U.  S.  Senator,  .  .  .  112 


Calhoun,  Jno.  C,  U.  S.  Senator,  .             .             .42 

Clay,  Henry,  U.  S.  Senator,  ...               50 

CuMMiNG,  Alfred,  Governor,    .  ...       290 

Cheves,  Langdon,  Judge,    .  .             .             .            .             241 


Davis,  Warren  R.,  Lawyer  and  Poet,  .  .  .       302 

Drayton,  Wm.,  Statesman  and  Patriot  .  .  269 

DuNKiN,  Benj.  Faneuil,  Judge,  ....       208 


Earle,  Baylis  J.,  Judge,     ,  .  .  .  214 

Elmore,  Franklin  H.,  U.  S.  Senator.  .99 

Evans,  Josiah  J.,  U.  S.  Senator,       .  .  .  .  116 


Fisher,  J.  Francis,  Statesman    .....      277 


Gantt,  Richard,  Judge,      .....  229 

Grayson,  Wm.  J„  Statesman,      .....       285 
Grimke,  Thos.  S.,  Patriot,    .....  274 


Hayne,  Robert  Y.,  U.  S.  Senator,  etc.,  .  .68 

Harper,  Wm.,  U.  S.  Senator,  etc.,    ....  85 

Hammond,  Jas.  H.,  U.  S.  Senator,  etc  ,  .  104 

Hamilton,  Jas.,  Jr.,  Governor,        ...  143 

Huger,  Alfred,  Patriot,  .....       263 

Huger,D.\niel  E.,  U.  S.  Senator,     ....  90 


Jackson,  Andrew,  President,     .  .  .  .25 

Johnson,  Andrew,  President,  ....  32 

Johnson,  Reverdy,  U.  S.  Senator.         ....       135 
Johnson,  D.a.vid,  Governor,  .....  148 


Legare,  Hugh  S.,  Statesman,     .  .  .  .  -251 


McDuffie,  George,  U.  S.  Senator,  ....  74 

Means,  John  H.,  Governor,        .  .  .  .159 

Middleton,  Henry,  Governor,        .  .  .  .  138 


O'Neall,  Jno,  Belton,  Judge,  .....       202 
Orr,  Jas.  L.,  Governor  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Russian 

Court,  ......  179 


Perry,  Benj.  F.,  Governor,  etc.,  ....  7 

Petigru,  Jas.  L.,  Statesman,  ....  256 

Pickens,  Francis  W.,  Governor,  etc.,    .  .  .165 

Poinsett,  Joel  R.,  Member  President's  Cabinet.      .  246 

Preston,  Wm.  C,  U.  S.  Senator,  etc.,    .  .  .  .56 


Ill 


Rhett,  Robt.  Barnwell,  U.  S.  Senator,  etc.,  .  •  129 

Richardson,  John  S.,  Judge,     .....       197 


Seward,  Wm.  H.,  Member  Cabinet,  etc.,  .  318 

Smith,  Wm.,  U.  S.  Senator,         .....         80 
Swain,  David  L.,  Governor,  ....  189 


Thompson,  Waddy,  Sr.,  Governor,        ....       236 
Thompson,  Genl.  Waddy.,  Member  Congress  and  Minister  to 

■Mexico,  etc.,     ....  297 


Webster,  Daniel,  U.  S.  Senator,  etc.,    .  .   '         .  .63 

Withers,  Thos.  J.,  Judge,   .....  222 


V.\NCEY,  Wm.  L.,  Confederate  Senator,  ....       313 
Veadon,  Richard,  Statesman,  ....  307 


ERRATA. 

On  page  27,  for  Randall,  read  Kendal. 
On  page  229,  for  Wm.  F.  Gantt,  read  W.m.  J.  Gantt. 
On  page  232,  for  Judge  Mott,  read  Judge  Nott. 
On  page  269,  for  Icesa  magistratis,  read  Icesa  majestatis. 
<  )n  page  284,  for  Wm.  T.  Grayson,  i-ead  Wm.  J.  Grayson. 
On  page  300,  for  Chancellor  Durgan,  read  Chancellor 
Dargan. 


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